7 relevant statistics and records you need to know about Lord’s – the venue for the 2025 WTC final
Lord’s will host the World Test Championship final encounter between Australia and South Africa.
It is the first time that the ground dubbed the ‘Home of Cricket’ has been the venue for the showpiece.
Here are a few facts about the ground as we draw towards this Test cricket finale.
1. Who has the most Test runs at Lord’s?
No one has scored as many runs at Lord’s in Tests as Joe Root. The former England captain has 2022 runs at an average of 54.6 in 40 innings at the venue. He has celebrated seven tons and as many half-centuries at Lord’s in his storied career. Root’s highest score at Lord’s is an unbeaten 200 against Sri Lanka in 2014.
Root is followed by Graham Gooch, who amassed 2015 runs in a 19-year-long career. He averaged 53 in 39 innings, with a top score of 333. No other batter has scored 200 or more runs at the Home of Cricket.
2. Who has the most Test wickets at Lord’s?
Lord’s was one of Jimmy Anderson’s favourite hunting grounds. The retired England seamer finished his career with 704 Test wickets, and 17.5% of them were bagged at Lord’s. Anderson took 123 wickets in 56 innings at an average of 24.8. He took seven five-wicket hauls, and his best bowling figures are 9/73 in a match and 7/42 in an innings.
His new ball partner, Stuart Broad, has the second-most wickets at the ground with 113 wickets in 55 innings at an average of 27.6. His best bowling figures at the ground are 7/44 in an innings and 11/165 in a match.
3. What is the highest team total at Lord’s in Tests?
Don Bradman and Bill Woodfull stood tall when Australia faced England in July 1930. The fielders fielded first and watched England pile up 425 runs, thanks to Duleep’s huge century. Bradman and Woodfull helped Australia issue a firm response with a double century and a century to power Australia to 729/6d. Bradman scored 254 and Woodfull made 155.
Australia’s 729 is the highest innings total by a team at Lord’s.
No other team has gone past 700 runs, however, teams have passed 600 five times. South Africa scored 682/6d against England in 2003; England crunched 653/4d against India in 1990; West Indies made 652/8d when they faced England in 1973; Australia reached 632/4d against England in 1993; and England scored 629 against India in 1974.
4. What is the lowest team total at Lord’s in Tests?
Ireland recorded the lowest total at Lord’s when they were dismissed for 38 by England in 2019.
England won the toss, elected to bat first and were stopped by Tim Murtagh in their tracks. The medium-pacer took 5/53 as he helped Ireland bundle out England for 85. Ireland issued a firm reply with a solid 207, thanks to a half-century from Andy Balbirnie.
England got their act together and scored 303 in the third innings to get ahead for the first time in the match. Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad took the new ball in the fourth innings and ran riot. They bowled 15.4 overs between them and took all 10 wickets as England skittled Ireland for 38. Woakes finished with 6/17 and Broad 4/19.
India and New Zealand also have the other two sub-50 totals. India was dismissed for 42 (by England) in 1974, and England bundled out New Zealand for 47 in 1958.
5. Who has the highest individual Test score at Lord’s?
Graham Gooch 333 against India in 1990. Gooch weathered the early storm from India, which swept off Mike Atherton for eight from 20 and David Gower for a 109-ball 40. The England captain steadied the ship for his side and put on 308 for the third wicket with Allan Lamb (139) and stitched a 192-run fourth-wicket stand with Robin Smith. He declared after Smith had reached his ton with 643 runs on the board.
Graeme Smith and Don Bradman are the only two other batters to go past 250 runs in an innings. Smith scored 259 against England in 2003, and Bradman scored 254 for Australia when they faced England in 1930.
6. Who has the best bowling figures at Lord’s in Tests?
Bob Massie took 16 wickets for Australia against England in 1972. Massie knocked off Geoff Boycott for the first wicket. Dennis Lillee stepped up and dismissed England’s number two and three batters, John Edrich and Brian Luckhurst, before Massie returned and accounted for everyone else to finish the innings with 8/84.
In the third innings, Lillee took two wickets, again, sending Boycott and Luckhurst back to the pavilion, while Massie dismissed the other eight batters, again. Massie finished the innings with 8/53. He had 16/137 in the match.
Eight wickets in an innings is the most a bowler has taken at Lord’s, and Massie is one of five bowlers to achieve the feat. The other four are Ian Botham, Glenn McGrath, Hedley Verity, and Derek Underwood. From this list, only Botham and Massie took eight wickets in an innings twice. Botham is also the one with the best bowling figures in an innings with 8/34 against Pakistan in 1978.
7. What is the capacity of Lord’s?
If the Home of Cricket gets filled to capacity when Australia squares off against South Africa, the ground will have 31,100 spectators in the stands.