If there is one cricket ground where every cricketer dreams to play is none other than the Lord’s cricket ground which is also known as ‘Mecca of Cricket’. And the icing on the cake is when a cricketer manages to perform well in order to register his/her name on the popular honour’s board which is considered tremendously prestigious.
In the vast history of the captivating game, so many players have been successful in etching their name on the honours board. However, there have been few which include some of cricket’s greatest who haven’t had the privilege to mark their presence in the elite club.
On Wednesday, Lord’s Cricket Ground via their official Twitter handle released an interesting non-honour’s board XI, featuring the most outstanding cricketers of all-time.
Former England legend WG Grace who played an enormous 870 first-class matches in his career was the first one to make it to the list. He played five Test matches at Lord’s but could only score 214 runs with 75 being his highest. Grace was also named the skipper of the side.
Alongside Grace, an attacking opener from India, Virender Sehwag has been picked. The former India cricketer appeared in 1 Test and three ODIs at Lord’s and reached the 50-run mark twice, but he was unable to convert those 50+ scores into triple-figure and got out on 84 and 71.
For the middle-order, two of the finest cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara were selected. Modern cricket great Virat Kohli has also joined the list. Tendulkar and Lara ruled cricket in their eras, but they were never successful in smashing a ton at Lord’s.
Tendulkar has played 5 Tests and 3 ODIs at the iconic venue, and his highest score was 37, while Lara only averaged 20 in eight matches (5 ODIs and 3 Tests) at Lords. Kohli, on the other hand, has so far appeared in 2 Tests and as many ODIs scoring 126 runs. Although he still has a chance to correct his record in the coming times.
Jacques Kallis, who is regarded as one of the top-most all-rounders in world cricket, couldn’t impress with either his bowling or batting at Lords. The former Proteas player has played three Tests, two ODIs at the venue.
The role of wicket-keeper has been gratified to Adam Gilchrist. He remains the closest to reach into the honours board as his highest score was 90. Gilchrist had played eight matches at Lords.
Among bowlers, Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Dennis Lillee and Curtly Ambrose have been picked. Surprisingly, these legendary bowlers who literally dominated in their eras could never manage to scalp five wickets at Lord’s.
Here’s the non-honour’s board XI:
WG Grace (C), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Virat Kohli, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist (WK), Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Denis Lillee, Curtly Ambrose.
