Prince Philip unveils the new Warner Stand at the Lord's cricket ground

Established in 1814, the iconic Lord’s Stadium in London is popularly known as the Mecca of cricket. Many people aspire to produce their best performance at this ground and get on the legendary honours board. To keep up with modern-day cricket, floodlights were added to the ground in the year of 2009. The seating capacity of this Stadium is 30,000 and the first Test played at this venue was way back in 1884 between Australia and England.

Recently, the Warner Stand was rebuilt which was the first phase of a major overhaul of the Lord’s cricket ground which will go on for two decades. Named after former England captain Pelham Warner, the Warner Stand has a seating capacity of 2,656 and was opened for the first time in May 1958.

The renovated stand was opened by Prince Philip, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, on Wednesday. An estimated expenditure of $32.3 million has been incurred on the same. The Lord’s serves home to the county team Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club.

“Today is a landmark moment for the club and we are very grateful to His Royal Highness for joining us to celebrate the official opening of the Warner Stand,” said Marylebone Cricket Club official Robert Ebdon in a press release.

“This truly outstanding facility will be enjoyed by visitors to Lord’s for many years to come.”

Sir Pelham Warner played 15 Tests for England between 1899 and 1912 scoring 622 runs with 132* being his best score. His first-class career, where he played for Middlesex, was more fruitful as he racked up 29028 runs in as many as 521 games scoring 60 centuries.

Umpteen numbers of legends have played cricket at the highest level on this ground and have desired to get their names on the honours board. One such stalwart was the great Sachin Tendulkar, who could never get a hundred at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.