Own goals have been a prominent feature of the European Championship football, yet the most glaring of the lot was committed on Saturday not on the grass of Germany but back in London by English cricket when it allowed Lord’s to stand empty.
At a time when the sport needs all the help it can get, the ECB’s questionable scheduling managed to shut the one window open to it during this summer of Euro 2024 and Olympics action.
A Lord’s Test traditionally sits alongside finals at Wembley and Wimbledon as one of Britain’s sporting crown jewels; its Saturday an opportunity for families to witness a snapshot of its 140-year-old tapestry. In a summer when it is being suffocated by other events, this was its air time.
Homage to Jimmy Anderson’s glorious career and an emotional farewell to one of cricket’s greats in front of a 31,000 full house should have been paid by a weekend crowd, planting indelible memories in schoolchildren unable to attend or watch its live TV coverage — not the corporate one that provided Friday’s backdrop.
Anderson’s exit after 22 years of blood, sweat and tears for England should have been the amuse-bouche to two historic quests for glory on Sunday: Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of a record-equalling eighth men’s title and the nation getting behind Gareth Southgate’s team’s attempts in Berlin to rid 1966 of its exclusivity when it comes to winning men’s trophies.
Flunking the chance to lock in such a scenario evokes memories of the 1999 Cricket World Cup when as hosts England were eliminated before their official team song had been released.
It is far from the first time the major Test of the summer at Lord’s has begun on a Wednesday. In fact, it has happened for each of the last five seasons that the home of cricket has played host to England as a Test venue, including two Ashes fixtures.
But you would have thought the ECB hierarchy had learned from the experience of 2022 when a South African innings win over Ben Stokes’s Bazballers was sealed inside three days, leaving thousands with weekend tickets disgruntled.
West Indies’ arrival here was disrupted by Hurricane Beryl wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and there was sympathy for how an inexperienced top order was blown away.
Yet also spare a thought for the associate members among the MCC’s 18,500 whose terms allowed them entrance on days four and five. And for the paying public. Yes, they will receive full refunds — as did those that turned up for the 67 minutes of play and Anderson on Friday.
The ECB point to extenuating circumstances. The Twenty20 World Cup in June has forced their three major series against the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia to be crammed into a period of 12 weeks rather than spread across five months.
However, their PR machine is only too happy to churn out lines about their Hundred competition increasing cricket’s connectivity with young people, so why deny the same demographic the chance to witness the last embers of one of England’s greatest ever competitors?
The man himself said he hoped children were watching, hoping to emulate his bowling. Unfortunately, they were just finishing morning break.
Test cricket should never again be treated as a second-class citizen — as it was last year, when the Ashes was moved to hand the unloved 100-ball-a-side competition pre-eminence, or this, when it gets three prime weeks of August unopposed.
The governing body’s schedulers point out the plan for their six 2024 Tests featured full weekends, but recognising value is not the same as cashing in on it. International cricket regulations protect player welfare by insisting upon three days between Tests, and the ECB are working to the bare minimum in this regard, but they should have pushed back a series start pattern of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday by 24 hours.
Meals that would have been served at Lord’s on Saturday were being dispensed by the MCC to homeless charities and youth clubs in close proximity to the ground and via the Felix Project to soup kitchens and shelters across the capital.
But it is passing up the chance to be the only sporting show in town that should provide food for thought.
