Two Short Visits To Cricket Matches With Daisy: Lord’s For The Women’s ODI England v India, & Merchant Taylors’ School For Middlesex v Northamptonshire, 19 & 23 July 2025

Limited attention span, limited time available or weather-affected cricket?

Some elements of all three of those “reasons” meant that Daisy (Janie) & I spent just a few hours at each of those two matches.

England Women v India Women ODI At Lord’s 19 July 2025

It was bucketing down with rain in London when we rose on the Saturday morning of the women’s ODI. We agreed that the forecast suggested that there would be no cricket until mid-afternoon.

No matter. We both had things to be getting on with and had in any case planned an easy day at Lord’s for that match – go by car, just a few snacks in a bag, and “play it by ear”.

By the time we got to the ground, after word reached us that there should be no more rain and play in a much reduced match would be starting soon, we’d still only missed the first few overs of India’s innings.

Daisy’s favourite spot on the pavilion sun deck was gloriously available – see headline image and the image below, in which we both feel smug having secured Daisy’s favourite spot.

It isn’t the most intense cricket-watching view in the house, by a long way, but it is a lovely spot to just relax and sense the atmosphere in the ground.

The lower tiers of all the public stands were very full, despite the weather. It’s great to see this at a women’s international match. When Janie and I went to our first women’s international, at Shenley in 2003, I think we were the only people watching apart from the players’ friends and relations.

Zooming in on the action

We went for a nice stroll during the interval and did that thing we only tend to do once or twice each summer now: we each had a whippy ice cream with flake.

We decided to stroll with our ice creams into the Harris Garden (or “Grandpa’s Garden”, as I like to call it), which looked enticingly non-corporate and empty for a major match day. There, we were charmingly accosted by a lady who wanted to take a selfie with Daisy’s ice cream in hand, and then proceeded to tell us all about her personal struggles with bipolar disorder.

After finishing our ice creams, we politely took our leave of that endearing lady and went back to our seats for a while.

Soon it became very clear that the match was going England’s way and Janie’s analogue weather app (sixth sense) detected that there might be a passing shower or two on the way. I checked on my digital weather app, which agreed with her.

We took our leave of Lord’s and watched the end of the match (after the rain interval) from the comfort of our Noddyland home. Here’s a link to how it all turned out, if you want Cricinfo chapter and verse.

It ain’t Lord’s, but it is still magical

Middlesex v Northamptonshire, Day Two, Merchant Taylors’ School, 23 July 2025

How many for 8?

Our original plan had been to pop out to Northwood and see some cricket at Merchant Taylors’ School mid afternoon on Day One. However, part of our purpose had been an errand “out that way” which was no longer necessary and the weather looked distinctly iffy.

I was liaising with Yorkshire Simon over this, not least because he was also minded to go that day, but for the weather.

SIMON @10:00ish: Good morning. Very grey here…I won’t be home till lunchtime. Forecast isn’t brilliant.

ME @3:00ish: We finished other stuff a bit too late and the forecast is a bit too iffy for us “fair weather fans”! We might try again tomorrow.

SIMON @3:30: Very wise. It’s actually ok here but light rain is forecast.

The forecast looked much better for the afternoon of Day Two, although again Janie and I struggled to dispense with our other commitments quite as early as we would have liked.

Whisper it, folks, but both of us do still work, albeit part time. There is a rumour that our version of part time has more hours of actual work to it than a lot of people’s so-called full time work, but let’s not start fretting about that on Ogblog.

Anyway, we got to MTS while Middlesex were still batting, racking up a record high score. Daisy took the above picture early enough to prove that we were there to see the moment that Middlesex passed 600, which I think is the first time I have ever witnessed such a moment, although I have seen other teams surpass 600 against Middlesex a couple of times at least, and probably have seen bits of Middlesex innings that ended up past 600.

Trying to work out how rare an event this 600+ score really is, while also keeping tabs on England’s progress in the Old Trafford test. It’s not easy to be a cricket geek at an out ground, you know.

We stuck around long enough to see Middlesex take some wickets, although naturally I chose my moment for a loo break at the perfect time to miss one of those. A wag among the small but friendly crowd suggested that I should go to the loo again when I returned from that break grumbling about missing a wicket.

Daisy and I soon decided to make an early departure to ensure that we got home in good time and didn’t have too late a night – we both had busy days scheduled the next day.

It was Daisy’s first experience of the Merchant Taylors’ School vibe (weather and work commitments had confounded her several times previously) and she now absolutely gets why I like the out ground cricket there so much. It is very much “out her way” in terms of Daisy’s childhood – we drove home past her old family home on Batchworth Lane.

A few very relaxing hours in the midst of a rather busy working week.

MCC v Real Tennis Hong Kong – A Rare Tennis Fixture At Lord’s, 15 July 2025

Unfurl the flags! (This picture by Tom Carew Hunt – all pictures by Tom or me)

It was the day after the remarkable Lord’s test match between England & India:

Four Out Of Five Days At The England v India Lord’s Test, 10 to 14 June 2025

I didn’t exactly need another day at Lord’s so soon, but I am mighty glad nonetheless that I had such a day.

As is almost traditional on the day after a test match, the MCC had arranged a club day on the main pitch; in this case between MCC and Hong Kong Cricket Club. You can read all about the cricket and even watch the matches in full by clicking here.

Real tennis Hong Kong dragon, not to be confused with a Welsh dragon

Tom Carew Hunt, in liaison with Charlie Barrows of Real Tennis Hong Kong, thought this occasion an ideal excuse…or should I say opportunity…to have an MCC v RTHK fixture on the same day.

It was a very bright idea which made for a very enjoyable day.

Ton Carew Hunt in the Lord’s dedans gallery, no doubt expounding on another bright idea

We MCC members had several conversations about ensuring that we were able to introduce all of our visitors into the pavilion during the day, only to discover that it was a “relatively relaxed” day, with no requirement to sign guests in.

After my rubber, I “introduced” (or rather, made an unnecessary attempt to sign in) John McVitie, with whom I supped in the Bowlers’ Bar watching cricket for a while, until an untimely short shower temporarily put paid to the cricket.

In the end, despite there being plentiful cricket to watch, I spent most of my time in the dedans gallery, where the majority of the tennis players were hanging out, watching tennis and chatting.

I did offer to mark a rubber or two, but Charlie Barrows was keen to mark most of the match. Tom marked one rubber, which I am told included a controversial call. But, sadly, my investigative journalism came to nought when the players all clammed up under interrogation. Strangely, it transpires that the video camera, normally in full flow throughout such matches, was suspiciously turned off during our match. “Fault-er-gate” will thus remain one of those unsolved mysteries.

Richard Wyse, Peter Brunner, Anthony Prince & Bill Higson line up for the final rubber

Below is the results card, showing, in excruciating detail, everything that Joe Public might like to know about this fixture, and more.

Although MCC took both the men’s and women’s cricket matches on the field of play, Real Tennis Hong Kong pipped MCC in the tennis fixture.

But more important than the result was the warmth and friendliness of the atmosphere throughout the day. Of course, most of the RTHK players are long-term friends of the MCC players through the real tennis community, plus, in many cases, through also being members of the MCC. It was lovely to spend a day at tennis and cricket in that relaxed and congenial setting.

Yes indeed, RTHK and MCC could do with more ties!

Four Out Of Five Days At The England v India Lord’s Test, 10 to 14 July 2025

Day One

I got to Lord’s early on Day One of the test, but my purpose was to play tennis, rather than grab a prime seat. I didn’t play well that day.

By the time I’d showered and changed, the only seating available was in members’ overflow in the Lower Compton Stand, which is a pretty decent place to watch cricket. I needed to do some musical chairs during the day to avoid the sun, but managed that process quite effectively.

Towards the end of Day One, I wandered round to the Allen Stand end of the Tavern Stand, from whence I took the headline photo. There was a “ladybirds stopped play” incident at that time, which doesn’t show in the photo.

Day Two

I got to Lord’s pretty early again on Day Two – this time to try and secure a shady seat in the Tavern Stand for the morning session. Success. Tony Friend came and joined me for a while there.

Just before lunch I wandered around to the tennis court, as I was to have a hit with Chris Bray at 2:30. In fact, Chris told me that the Cull match was likely to end early so we could start around 2:00, which we did.

The story of Brian Lara witnessing a fair chunk of our 30 minute hit will appear on King Cricket in the fulness of time, at which point I’ll link it through to Ogblog. The court was free until 3:00, so I worked on my serve and striking sitters from the roof for a while.

By the time I’d showered and changed it was tea. I hoped to find a vacated seat in the pavilion for the last session and wasn’t disappointed.

I got chatting with some interesting fellows in the neighbouring seats, as is often the way in members’ sections at Lord’s. And yes, my tie got a couple compliments again!

Day Three

Janie and I played “lawn” at Boston Manor and followed the cricket from the luxury of our own home.

Day Four

Janie and I got to Lord’s early enough to find good seats in the shadier part of the Warner Stand.

Janie was more keen on doing the double-selfie thing than I was. Does it show?

We left a little early to freshen up at the flat. In the evening, we went to the Wigmore Hall to see a super concert:

Miloš & The Piatti Quartet At The Wigmore Hall, 13 July 2025

Day Five

Janie and I commuted to Lord’s for this “bonus” day, securing Warner Stand seats near to the ones we occupied the day before.

We thought we’d be treated to two to three hours of cricket, but in fact the final innings of this match turned into a fascinating extended nail-biter.

Here is a link to the Cricinfo resources on this match, where you can see the scorecard, reviews and stuff.

We both really enjoyed our time at Lord’s for this match. I feel so lucky and privileged to be able to enjoy test cricket this way.

Miloš & The Piatti Quartet At The Wigmore Hall, 13 July 2025

Miloš: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 2.0

Janie and I were really taken with Miloš Karadaglić when we first saw him, at The Wig, more than 10 years ago:

Miloš Karadaglić, Wigmore Hall, 22 February 2015

I bought some CDs (remember them?) on the back of that concert and we attempted to see him again a year or two later, but he had to cancel that concert due to injury and disappeared off our radar for a while.

I had noticed his name on schedules relatively recently, but this was the first time that the timings worked for us…more or less.

I say “more or less”, because I knew that we would most likely be at Lord’s that day for the fourth day of the test match…

Four Out Of Five Days At The England v India Lord’s Test, 10 to 14 June 2025

…and a day at the test followed by a concert at The Wig was sure to be a rigorous test for Pinky, my brand-new hip.

Still, Lord’s and the Wigmore Hall are the only places left on the planet where some stewards and fellow patrons still occasionally refer to me as “young man”, so it had to be worth a go.

Pinky and I passed the test with flying colours, as did Miloš Karadaglić. But things have also changed for Miloš since we last saw him. For a start, he has become mononymous; “Miloš” is his entire billing name now. Miloš now plays with some strapping on one of his hands and plays accompanied rather than solo, perhaps to help manage his workload.

When I booked the concert the plan was for him to be accompanied by an accordion player, but the concert was changed substantially between booking and concert. Instead we saw him with the Piatti Quartet, which, frankly, was more to our taste than I imagine the accordion would have been.

Here is a link to the Wigmore Hall resources for the concert.

The concert was lovely. Miloš still plays delightfully and with great elegance. You could sense that he had built a great rapport with the quartet for this concert/mini-tour. The Piatti Quartet also played beautifully.

Miloš explained that, in a musical world that is increasingly about playlists that keep individual items short, while mixing and matching styles, this concert was designed like such a playlist. Hence the four movements of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco Guitar Quintet unusually peppered throughout the concert.

In the first half we heard:

  • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Guitar Quintet Op. 143: I. Allegro, vivo e schietto
  • Benedetto Marcello – Oboe Concerto in D minor: II. Adagio
  • Luigi Boccherini – Guitar Quintet in D G448 ‘Fandango’
  • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Guitar Quintet Op. 143: II. Andante mesto
  • Malcolm Arnold – Serenade for guitar and strings Op. 50
  • Anon – Spanish Romance
  • Ástor Piazzolla – Libertango

This video clip of him playing the Spanish Romance will give you a sense of his playing:

During the interval, Janie struck up a conversation with the American lady who was sitting, alone, to Janie’s right. The lady told us that she had become a bit of a groupie for Miloš, having seen him several times at various locations in the recent past. She seemed surprised (and perhaps a little envious) that we had seen him as long ago as 2015. She then admitted that she had somewhat of a crush on Miloš and blushed. I asked politely what Miloš has that I haven’t got? I thought I heard a rather complimentary response from the blushing lady, although Janie claims to have heard the response differently. “Young man” was not part of the answer in either of our rememberings.

In the second half we heard:

  • Philip Glass – String Quartet No. 2 ‘Company’
  • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Guitar Quintet Op. 143: III. Scherzo. Allegro con spirito, alla marcia
  • Pablo Casals – Song of the Birds (arranged by Piatti Quartet)
  • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Guitar Quintet Op. 143: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco
  • Harold Arlen – The Wizard of Oz: Over the Rainbow (arranged by Tōru Takemitsu)
  • The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby
  • The Beatles – Fool on the Hill
  • The Beatles -Here Comes the Sun
  • Encore: Antonio Luca Vivaldi – Concerto in D major for flute, oboe, violin and bassoon RV90: II. Largo

Here is a link to the Programme text.

A Quarter-Finals Day On No.1 Court At Wimbledon, 9 July 2025

Ged & Daisy gently watching on early in the day – Court 12

We had a truly lovely day at Wimbledon.

We were mostly there to see two quarter-finals on No. 1 Court:

  • Iga Swiatek v Liudmila Samsonova;
  • Jannik Sinner v Ben Shelton.

Unusually, we ended up seeing both of the eventual singles tournament winners in action on No. 1 Court that day.

Liudmila

Iga to please

Jannik & Ben at the toss

Jannik and his shadow in full flow

But before all that, as usual, we got Wimbledon well early and made a bee-line to Court 12, where we saw bits of:

  • Fabrice Santoro & Anne Keothavong v Nenad Zimonjic & Martina Navratilova;
  • Hannah Klugman v Charo Esquiva Banuls.

Anne & Fabrice foreground, Martina and Nenad behind

Hannah preparing to play

Charo in full flow

I did a fair bit of wandering around during and between the quarter finals matches on No. 1 Court, mostly taking in some junior action or just taking in the atmosphere generally.

Oliver Bonding & Jagger Leach (above), Zangar Nurlanuly & Damir Zhalgasbay (below)

The order of play for the day we attended, including results, can be seen here, courtesy of the AELTC.

We had a super day – what else can I say?

Didn’t we have a lovely time?

Heavy Rolling In Edgbaston (Via Leamington) For The England v India Test, 1 to 4 July 2025

Ged, Jonny, Morg, Daisy & Harsha (Nigel AWOL) – Photo by Sam

It seemed like less than a year since our previous visit. Perhaps because it was less than a year…by a few weeks:

Leamington & Then Edgbaston For England v West Indies, 25 to 27 July 2024

Anyway, Daisy and I did our usual thing in Leamington – stopping there for a game of real with Dr Snoddie & his pals; also lunching and shopping in that fine spa town, before driving on to Birmingham (Moseley).

This time we had taken an out house in a family home as our Airbnb, which was less eccentric than the 2024 place but not quite as spacious and posh as the 2022 place in Edgbaston.

Still, plenty of room for producing smoked trout and smoked salmon bagels, smoked chicken, duck and cheese sandwiches, grape and strawberry courses and assorted snacks.

Nigel joined me and Daisy for dinner at Sabai Sabai the night before the test started. Harsha was unable to join us until Day Two, hence his absence from the pre-test repast. He (and we) had very much enjoyed that place in 2024, much as we all did in 2025.

A fairly large table, including cricket writers Simon Wilde and John Etheridge also dined in Sabai Sabai that evening. Being cricket writers, they must be discerning folk who know what they are on about food-wise.

Nigel, Morg, Jonny & Me – photo by Daisy

Here we are gathered at the start of Day One, brimming with antici…

…pation.

Jonny Twophones was making a third appearance this year, while his friend, Huge Morg, whom I had met through Jonny at Lord’s a couple of years earlier, was making his first appearance at a Heavy Rollers event. Unfortunately we neglected to conduct Morg’s initiation ceremony this time, so it will have to be a more extreme version of the initiation next time. Something for everyone to look forward to.

Did Sam come and visit us at lunchtime on Day Two?

Yes. As well as this selfie, he also took the headline photo for us. Thanks Sam.

Of course he did.

Daisy took a good few photos around the back of the Eric Hollies Stand over the three days, which will find their way as an educational feature on the King Cricket website in the fullness of time. A link to that feature will be annexed soon after that fullness.

Here is an example of such a photo, not used in that feature.

Knight time is the right time.

My performance in the traditional Heavy Rollers prediction game was dismal this year, whereas Daisy, professing to “knowing nothing” did quite well for a change.

As always, the days seemed to fly by and sooner than we possibly could imagine we were all on our way.

Mixed Disability Cricket, Mixed Ability Tennis, Knight-Stokes Cricket Competition For State Schools, Plus Throw-Backs To The 20th & 19th Centuries; Four Activities In 24 Hours At Lord’s, 25 & 26 June 2025

The last ball of England’s innings

Mixed Disability Cricket, Afternoon, 25 June 2025

I had hoped to get to Lord’s a bit earlier than 4:15 on Disability Cricket Day, but work and other necessities intervened. By the time I got to Lord’s, most of the peripheral activities had finished, although there were still plenty of people enjoying their day around the Nursey Ground, especially the small stand at the side of the Cricket Academy.

Some of my steward friends urged me to hurry round to the pavilion side of the ground, lest I missed the whole of the flagship match between England and India, as England were seven-down for diddly-squat.

But this was no day for hurrying – I ambled around with my tennis equipment in hand, with a view to stowing the equipment and working out where to sit.

I had no jacket and tie with me, but suspected that it would be a “relaxed dress code” day and that my smart casual look would be sufficient to gain entry into the pavilion.

I asked one of my steward friends whether it was relaxed dress code today.

Totally relaxed – they’ve even told us we can let people in wearing flip-flops today.

I was flabberghasted.

I wish I’d phoned to ask before I left home. I’ve always wanted to wear flip-flops in the pavilion.

Relaxed dress – I still have this longyi somewhere…and flip-flops

On asking one question about the nature of this disability match, another friendly steward handed me a programme – then I found a seat on the front terrace.

The programme was helpful in answering my questions about what “mixed disability” is. In short, there are three categories of disability cricket:

  • Physical Disability;
  • Deaf / Hearing Impairment;
  • Learning Disability.

This mixed disability format requires a mixed team because all three categories of disability need to be represented in the top four batting and each category needs to bowl at least 25% of the overs – thus requiring a minimum of two bowlers from each category.

Clever.

By the time I had got my head around it, the England innings had revived somewhat and were making a good game of it for the last few overs of its 20 over allocation.

That said, India set off in the power play looking as though they would make short shrift of the 124 target.

At that juncture, I realised that I needed to go to the dressing room and change for my next gig – real tennis club night, which I curate, so it would be rude to be late.

It’s a shame I was unable to stay and watch the match play out, as it turned out to be a real humdinger.

On my way out, as I progressed through the Long Room, I ran into Arfan Akram, besuited in a conventional MCC stylee, whom I know well from his role with Essex and my role with the London Cricket Trust.

London Cricket Trust 2022 Awards, Southwark Park, 4 October 2022

After greeting me warmly, and us both agreeing that the disability cricket day seemed to be a great success, Arfan asked,

are you going to write this up on your blog?

You don’t say no to Arfan without good reason.

Yes, of course,

I said.

In truth, I was really impressed by the quality of the cricket. It is the first time I have seen this mixed disability format. I think it is a great idea, to showcase the best of the disability cricketers and to encourage players in each of those three disability categories to aspire to make the most of their talents.

I can’t find any video from the match I saw, but here is a YouTube of the mixed disability match earlier in the day, MCC v Middlesex D40 First XI, which was also a humdinger:

…and here is a link to the highlights package from the fourth England v India Mixed Disability match a couple of days later.

Mixed Ability Real Tennis Club Night

I tried to explain to anyone who’d listen to me that I should be allowed to represent at mixed disability cricket, given the ravages of time and the advent of Pinky, my brand-new hip.

I was politely informed that I wouldn’t be good enough, not that I really needed anyone to tell me, given the quality of cricket I had witnessed.

No such impediment for real tennis club night. We play a mixed ability format, the criterion for which is quite straightforward – all are welcome regardless of ability.

Just as well that criterion is simple, because real tennis is a complex game which we amateurs play on handicap. For “all are welcome” sessions such as club night, where several of the players tend to be of unknown or unsettled handicaps, I favour the use of sliding handicaps, to ensure that each set will tend towards a tight finish. Works almost every time.

Again, no footage from club night itself (heaven forbid) but I do have some footage of several of us regular “Club-night-istas” at play in early February, just before I parted company with Pinky’s organic predecessor.

Of the four of us depicted, only me and Mike Lay were at Club Night this June. Mike was my nemesis on that February “quarter-final-like” occasion, and proved to be so again at Club Night, even though my ability to move has already come on leaps and bounds since February and the op.

It is wonderful, though, to be back on court playing with my friends again, without pain and at something starting to approach the level to which I aspire.

Back To Lord’s The Next Morning For Some Endorsing, While The MCC & MCC Foundation Launched The Knight-Stokes Cup

Young people…at Lord’s…enjoying themselves? Whatever next?

After a physiotherapy session first thing (planned, I hasten to add, not a reaction to the tennis the night before, which my body seemed to absorb most satisfactorily), I returned at 9:15 to Lord’s for a full morning of candidate endorsing.

When I agreed to endorse on the morning of 26 June, I didn’t realise that we’d end up doing the interviews in The President’s Suite of the Grandstand, while the MCC and the MCC Foundation launched the wonderful Knight-Stokes Cup for independent schools:

In some ways, there was something incongruous about conducting candidate endorsement interviews on such an auspicious occasion. Hardly any, if any of the candidates we interviewed that day had been to a state school. Still, the MCC can only do its best to try and widen its demographic; the Knight-Stokes Cup is one of the better ideas behind which the club is throwing its weight.

My interviewing partner for the session was Steven Bishop, another real tennis enthusiast who, coincidentally, had been one of my nemeses in the 2024 real tennis club weekend – on that occasion in a nail-biting semi-final:

But I digress.

We mostly interviewed young folk in this session and tried our best to present a very 21st century demeanour. Steven, in particular, spoke with them in detail about the MCC Foundation and the wonderful work it does, both nationally and internationally.

Steven did, however, on one occasion, while waxing lyrical about all the wonderful work the Foundation does overseas, mention Zaire, which slightly took me aback, partly because I had no idea that the MCC Foundation was active in DR Congo (I’m not 100% sure it is), and secondly because that country hasn’t been called Zaire since the previous millennium (1997 to be precise). I held my tongue. At least that small error is steeped in the late 20th century and not the 19th century, where the typical and unfair caricature of an MCC member, blissfully unaware that Queen Victoria is no longer with us, is perceived mentally to reside.

After six interviews I parted company with Steven and progressed, after a very short break for some lunch, to…

Steep Myself In The MCC’s 19th Century History – Research In The Library On Spencer Ponsonby-Fane & Other Related Topics

As part of my research for my forthcoming talk & small treatise on the emergence of the laws of tennis (lawn variety) around 1875, a central character in that story is Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, who chaired the MCC Tennis committee at the time those laws emerged and who also founded what is now MCC Heritage and Collections, including the Library and Museum.

Alan Rees in the library, as usual, was enormously helpful and had found some fascinating stuff for me to examine – some of which is highly pertinent to my talk and some of which is the sort of wonderful rabbit hole down which I like to dive when doing this sort of research.

One such rabbit hole is a beautiful new addition to the MCC collection: The Ricardo Album, which anyone can examine on-line through this link, but it was a wonderful experience carefully to browse through the pages of this mid-Victorian photograph album.

When Alan told me about it, I thought the Ricardo in question was John Lewis Ricardo, perhaps the most famous of the nephews of the great political economist David Ricardo. But no, the cricket-loving Ricardo who was one of the first members of I Zingari and thus hanging out with Spencer Ponsonby and the like, was one of John Lewis Ricardo’s younger brothers, Albert Ricardo, whose wife, Charlotte Ricardo, aka Daisy, compiled the album.

It’s a shame that John Lewis Ricardo was not the cricketer, as I wanted to say that he was “never knowingly under bowled”. I’ve said it anyway.

It was quite a coincidence wading through Daisy’s photo album, given that it was Janie (aka Daisy’s) birthday.

The Origins Of Ged & Daisy, Bali, c10 December 1993

Soon after 4:00, I decided that it would only be polite for me to return home and start preparing the birthday meal that I had promised my own Daisy, so I headed off around 4:15, almost exactly 24 hours after I arrived for the first of my four activities, having spent more time at Lord’s during that 24 hour period than away from the place.

Glorious, it was.

Three Gentlemen Against Two, Two Brits & Fritz, Plus Appliance Of Science To Avoid The Inferno Of Another Blisteringly Hot Day At The Queen’s Club, 19 June 2025

Three On One Side Of the Net, Two On The Other

I was heavily sedated on the morning the LTA released tickets for the ATP event at The Queen’s Club this year; 11 February.

By the time I regained my compos mentis…to the extent that my mentis is ever truly compos…Pinky, my brand-new hip was in place, my non-functioning, organic right hip had gone…and so had most of the decent-looking seats for the ATP at Queen’s.

“No matter”, I thought, in what might have still been a drug-induced state of relaxed acceptance. Ground passes are just £30 a pop and I’m sure I’ll be able to get good seats for the Queen’s WTA tournament when they come out…which I did:

Hot Stuff At The Queen’s Club, WTA Quarter-Finals Day, 13 June 2025

This seemingly unfortunate timing turned out to be a jolly good thing, as Janie and I had a super day at Queen’s without “troubling the stewards” of the main Andy Murray Arena.

On Court One, which ground passes cover, there were to be two excellent looking doubles matches. Although I got very confused as to how many players we would actually see.

First Match: Three Gentlemen Against Two – Arévalo González & Pavić v Mektić & Venus

Marcelo Arévalo González: “There’s only one of me, you twit!”

The problem with modern trends away from the use of punctuation is that you can never be entirely sure where you stand.

Had the reading source I chose stated: “Arévalo-González & Pavić v Mektić & Venus” I’d have understood. I’d also have understood had they used the Oxford comma: “Arévalo González, & Pavić v Mektić, & Venus”. But in the absence of punctuation I assumed we would be seeing three gentlemen against two – which was, after all, a perfectly regular mode of tennis play in Baroque times…

Real Life Begins Around 1740: Delving Into The Previously Untold Story Of Tennis Champion Clergé

…and which I thought might explain why Arévalo González & Pavić are the top ranked team in the world at the moment.

Anyway, the scoreboard on Court One was quite clear that we were to see “Arévalo & Pavić v Mektić & Venus, so it was not a complete surprise when only four players emerged.

Nikola Mektić & Michael Venus

Mate Pavić

The Appliance Of Science To Avoid The Inferno

A pair of shady customers in the small, western stand of Court One

Inspired by Galileo’s mathematical/geometric analysis of Dante’s Inferno, as explained in the previous evening’s Gresham lecture…

Gresham Society’s Journey To The Underworld, AGM & Gresham College Provost’s Lecture, 18 June 2025

…I did some complex geometrical analysis of my own, ahead of setting off to Queen’s, to ascertain which area on Court One was likely to be in the shade the earliest.

Until my treatise has been peer-reviewed I shall not be disclosing my methods. Suffice it to say that my theory played out in practice, which was a real blessing on such a hot day.

Janie and I took turns to go out and refill the water bottles and/or get some iced coffee. We also scoffed our smoked salmon bagels with impunity, once we were in the shade, soon after 14:00.

The young stewards on and around Court One were very friendly and also very helpful.

It was rather a long wait for the second match of the day on Court One; Jacob Fearnley needed to finish his singles match and rest a while before it could start. But from our point of view waiting around in the shade was well worth it, not least because we had spent a full day at Queen’s the week before during the WTA, so had no great desire to look around the exhibition stands.

Second Match: Two Brits & Fritz

Those helpful young stewards started to “advertise” the impending doubles match to inquisitive passers-by as “two Brits & Fritz”. I wondered whether we were to see two gentlemen against one – otherwise known as Canadian Doubles.

Two Brits & Fritz: Taylor Fritz, Jacob Fearnley & Cameron Norrie

After all, but for the unfortunate absence of Señor González earlier in the day, we’d have seen three gentlemen against two, so this sort of made sense.

Eustace Miles, Victorian/Edwardian multiple Queen’s champion, doyen of tennis, rackets and much much more

Further, Eustace Miles much preferred playing tennis two against one if he could not play singles

As a variation, the Three-handed Game is good. One
of the best Matches I have ever had was at Boston,
when I played against Messrs. Fearing and Stockton.
They have practised together as a pair again and
again, and they probably form the best working pair
and combination of all amateurs. It was capital exercise,
and I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable.
But I can count on my fingers the Four-handed Games
that I have enjoyed.

Eustace Miles, Racquets, Tennis & Squash, 1903, p269

Yet, when the players emerged, Taylor Fritz brought Jiri Lehecka with him, perhaps attempting an element of surprise or ambush.

Had Team GB doubles coach Louis Cayer been nobbled?

Clearly Daisy had been taken by surprise

Cam Norrie above, Jacob Fearnley below

Surprise package Jiri Lehecka looks super-fit

Two Brits, Steak & Fritz

But the Brits were not to be outflanked. An excellent win for Messrs Fearnley and Norrie – they could be a formidable doubles pairing should they choose to persevere with their partnership, we both felt.

We avoided the crush at Barons Court Station by walking away the long way around and stopping for a couple of games of table tennis before heading for the exit.

The ground pass thing was very different from any day Janie and I have spent at the tennis before, but still a most enjoyable, relaxing day. Maybe I should try being sedated on the day that LTA tickets are released more often.

Looking and feeling sedate is SO hip.

Gresham Society’s Journey To The Underworld, AGM & Gresham College Provost’s Lecture, 18 June 2025

The irony of the Gresham Society AGM being held underground in the basement meeting room of Barnard’s Inn Hall, ahead of the Provost’s lecture entitled, Galileo’s Journey to the Underworld: The Case for Interdisciplinary Thinking, was not wasted on me.

Under normal circumstances, The Gresham Society AGM is held in the early evening, followed by a dinner. Indeed, last time, I ended up being the “guest” performer…I mean, speaker:

Singing…Or In This Case Speaking… For My Supper, Gresham Society AGM & Dinner, Guildhall, 11 March 2024

Obviously the Society couldn’t go through all that again, so they opted for high tea and some very interesting updates from the new top team at Gresham College: Professor Robert Allison, Professor Sarah Hart & Richard Smith. All had very interesting things to day.

Bob Allison, in particular, teased us with a potted academic biography – basically he is a geographer with expertise in landfalls and stuff like that – so what is the connection between that discipline and his accidental occasional career as an expert witness in high-profile murder cases? We managed to winkle out some intriguing answers.

There should be at least one Gresham lecture in those fascinating topics, although Bob show’s some reluctance, as Chairman, to step up to the Gresham College podium himself.

Tim Connell thought he was doing a smart thing by peppering the AGM material with the updates from the college top team, making it impossible for me to do my usual thing of timing the AGM itself and challenging Tim’s assertion that he can get the main business done in less than 10 minutes.

That was a shame, because I suspect that on this occasion Tim really did keep the substantive business down to less than 10 minutes. Tim missed a sitter by dodging the time & motion aspect.

Tim Connell missing a sitter on our visit to the Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court in September 2023.

By the time we emerged from the Barnard’s In Hall underworld, after some high tea and further chat, the early evening was cool enough for some pleasant further chat in the courtyard before attending the Provost’s lecture. Most but not all of the attendees for the meeting stayed for the lecture, but some were unable to do so.

Professor Sarah Hart’s lecture was absolutely fascinating. If you missed it live, you can still of course see it. Indeed, if you visit the Gresham College website you can see lectures going back into the dim and distant past; even the couple that I gave “back in the day”.

Here is a link to Sarah Hart’s lecture on that site – Galileo’s Journey to the Underworld: The Case for Interdisciplinary Thinking – or you can watch the YouTube embed below:

An Antipodes Fest At Lord’s, 11 to 14 June 2026

In an unusual act of punctuality, King Cricket published my (Ged Ladd’s) write up of the four days I spent at Lord’s enjoying the ICC World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa, amongst other leisurely pursuits.

Pretty much everything I want to say about that match is included in that article.

Tennises, Black Caps and tie envy at the World Test Championship Final | a match report

Just in case misfortune should ever befall the King Cricket site, that page can also be read from this scrape.

And if my any chance you were hoping to learn what actually happened in the match, click here for the Cricinfo resources on that.