The real deal...

From the "UFO" that is the new press box, through to the crusty old fellows in the Members Stand, images of Lord's are certainly enduring.

Until recently the ground was something of a hoodoo for England, who, between 1982 and 2000, won just five out of 25 matches played there. But with the visit of Zimbabwe they will want to continue a run which has seen them victorious in four of the last six matches played.

The ground has, over the years, been known more for its low scoring games than anything else, but that has begun to change, with high scores and quick runs the order of the day.

When a captain wins the toss it is difficult for him to know what to do, of the 104 matches played at the ground so far, 32 have been won by the team batting first, 32 have been won by the team batting second and 40 have been drawn!

As is the trend around the world now, Lord's is very much a "result" ground, with just one draw in the last eight games.

The last Test there, England vs India in July 2002, was a remarkable one, purely for the amount of runs scored in the game.

England batted first and Nasser Hussein's 155 in the first innings helped them to a total of 487, to which the Indians could only reply with 221.

Choosing not to enforce the follow-on, both Michael Vaughan and John Crawley scored exactly 100 as England posted target of 568.

To be fair, India made a good fist of it, before finally being bowled out for 397, Ajit Agarkar scoring his maiden Test century batting at number eight.

The highest total there by a team was a massive 729/6 by Australia, the great Don Bradman scoring 254 in the innings. Amazingly, England scored 425 and 375 in their two knocks and still lost the match by seven wickets!

The lowest total was a measly 42 by India in 1974, though most recently the West Indies were bowled out for 54 in 2000.

That 254 from Bradman was not the highest score by a batsman on this ground, however, that honour goes to Graham Gooch, whose 333 against India in 1990 helped England to a rare 247-run win.

Seven bowlers have taken eight wickets in an innings on this ground, though Ian Botham's 8/34 against Pakistan in 1978 is the best of the bunch.