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| Lancashire cricket has lost something precious at its Old Trafford home | Lancashire cricket has lost something precious at its Old Trafford home |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The county cricket season is nearly upon us. Across the north, across the divisions, sides will play out the arcane nobility of England's other national sport. A season on from the long-elusive glory of outright County Championship supremacy, Lancashire start their campaign reeling from the blow of relegation. For some however, this is not the only cause for consternation. | The county cricket season is nearly upon us. Across the north, across the divisions, sides will play out the arcane nobility of England's other national sport. A season on from the long-elusive glory of outright County Championship supremacy, Lancashire start their campaign reeling from the blow of relegation. For some however, this is not the only cause for consternation. |
| Old Trafford cricket ground could never lay claim to being a pretty place, though it is by any measure steeped in history. The story of English Test cricket is bound up in the story of Old Trafford. After all, Test cricket was played there before it was played at Lord's. In the 130 years since that historic match (a rain affected draw), Old Trafford has seen some of the most memorable feats ever witnessed in the game. It was here that Jim Laker became the first man to take ten wickets in an innings, where Ian Botham's swaggering domination put a hungry Australia to the sword, and where a wisp of a boy called Sachin Tendulkar chalked up his first Test hundred. | Old Trafford cricket ground could never lay claim to being a pretty place, though it is by any measure steeped in history. The story of English Test cricket is bound up in the story of Old Trafford. After all, Test cricket was played there before it was played at Lord's. In the 130 years since that historic match (a rain affected draw), Old Trafford has seen some of the most memorable feats ever witnessed in the game. It was here that Jim Laker became the first man to take ten wickets in an innings, where Ian Botham's swaggering domination put a hungry Australia to the sword, and where a wisp of a boy called Sachin Tendulkar chalked up his first Test hundred. |
| With bluff Lancastrian candour, the ground has never been reticent about showing her age to those who came to see her history made, though the ravages of time became increasingly difficult to mask. By the late '90s, stands had became unsafe, roofs began to leak, the infrastructure quite literally had started to crumble. Test status could no longer be taken for granted and it was clear that radical change was needed if the club was to survive. Enter chief exec Jim Cumbes, a polymath of great charm, whose dogged determination was matched only by seemingly constant good cheer. | With bluff Lancastrian candour, the ground has never been reticent about showing her age to those who came to see her history made, though the ravages of time became increasingly difficult to mask. By the late '90s, stands had became unsafe, roofs began to leak, the infrastructure quite literally had started to crumble. Test status could no longer be taken for granted and it was clear that radical change was needed if the club was to survive. Enter chief exec Jim Cumbes, a polymath of great charm, whose dogged determination was matched only by seemingly constant good cheer. |
| Those qualities would be tested in the decade over which he guided the club and its ground through a redevelopment process of spiralling complexity, beset by lengthy and expensive legal battles with competing business interests. Now, at the beginning of 2013, the bulk of the work is done and Old Trafford looks forward to hosting two games against Australia this summer in a spanking new ground boasting facilities unbettered anywhere in the world. The club's financial future is now as secure as any, thanks in large part to the stunning entertainment facilities operating year round at The Point. Jim retired recently, leaving a legacy that ought to be recognised and cherished by generations of visitors yet to come. | Those qualities would be tested in the decade over which he guided the club and its ground through a redevelopment process of spiralling complexity, beset by lengthy and expensive legal battles with competing business interests. Now, at the beginning of 2013, the bulk of the work is done and Old Trafford looks forward to hosting two games against Australia this summer in a spanking new ground boasting facilities unbettered anywhere in the world. The club's financial future is now as secure as any, thanks in large part to the stunning entertainment facilities operating year round at The Point. Jim retired recently, leaving a legacy that ought to be recognised and cherished by generations of visitors yet to come. |
| Despite the rightful positivity and optimism in the air at Old Trafford at the moment, there is a very significant negative too. One great leveller has until now united every player and member, umpire and official. That unity came in the form of the pavilion. It was the building in which the faithful associated freely with the players. Parents watched on as their children sought autographs from the hero of the day, who had not only strived valiantly with a gutsy batting display, but also graciously accepted a drink from Dad afterwards. The pavilion was home to the club, its members and it players. The new Old Trafford has broken with this tradition and now the family must live apart. | Despite the rightful positivity and optimism in the air at Old Trafford at the moment, there is a very significant negative too. One great leveller has until now united every player and member, umpire and official. That unity came in the form of the pavilion. It was the building in which the faithful associated freely with the players. Parents watched on as their children sought autographs from the hero of the day, who had not only strived valiantly with a gutsy batting display, but also graciously accepted a drink from Dad afterwards. The pavilion was home to the club, its members and it players. The new Old Trafford has broken with this tradition and now the family must live apart. |
| The club may argue with some justification that splitting things enables larger and better facilities for both the players and the members. Neither should we overlook the security concerns that must surely have been raised as a factor in the wake of terrorist attacks against the Sri Lanka team and the India team hotel. What we are left with though will be a much-sanitised version of the cricket experience. | The club may argue with some justification that splitting things enables larger and better facilities for both the players and the members. Neither should we overlook the security concerns that must surely have been raised as a factor in the wake of terrorist attacks against the Sri Lanka team and the India team hotel. What we are left with though will be a much-sanitised version of the cricket experience. |
| We will sit, we will watch, we will eat and drink a little, we will watch some more and then we will leave. We will not stand in the corridor to give respectful applause to the players at close of play, nor shall we find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with a visiting West Indian as we each look up and down the honours board in quiet, shared reverence. A very small but infinitely precious connection is now lost forever and with it, a part of the club's social fabric. For all the manifold riches one may hope are to come for Lancashire and for England, to this small degree at least, Old Trafford will henceforth be much the poorer. | We will sit, we will watch, we will eat and drink a little, we will watch some more and then we will leave. We will not stand in the corridor to give respectful applause to the players at close of play, nor shall we find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with a visiting West Indian as we each look up and down the honours board in quiet, shared reverence. A very small but infinitely precious connection is now lost forever and with it, a part of the club's social fabric. For all the manifold riches one may hope are to come for Lancashire and for England, to this small degree at least, Old Trafford will henceforth be much the poorer. |
| Sam Firth lives in Salford and works for a law firm in Manchester. He is a free man on Sunday. | Sam Firth lives in Salford and works for a law firm in Manchester. He is a free man on Sunday. |
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