Two Iconic London Sporting Venues – Wimbledon and Lords
Day One – Wimbledon
This was my third trip to the Championships at the All England Club , having obtained a ticket through the resale portal a short time before my London trip.
I began the day by taking the tube to Wimbledon Station and hopping on the shuttle bus service direct to the iconic Tennis Venue.
The queue was good humoured in the already stifling heat as the steward checked everyone’s ID against their ticket as they awaiting the gates opening at 10am. Once the gates open everyone’s tickets were scanned and bags checked before entry , Champagne bottles are allowed.
My first port of call was to purchase some water as it was already a hot day before play began at 11am, I show a seat on Court 12 where there was an Invitational Doubles match between Hewitt / Pillippoussis and Blake / Querrey which was entertaining and although I saw the Aussies win the first set , they ended up winning 5-7 6-2 with a Championship tie break 10-7.
I choose a set at the end of a row where I could overlook Court 8 and saw a boys semi final which was won by the eventual champion from Bulgaria Ivan Ivanov
Time for lunch before heading to the main events on Court 1
Strawberries and Cream readily available at all food outlets for £2.70 , not sure why people stand in massive queue at the Strawberries and Cream Shop
Seats taken on Court 1 for two Men’s Doubles Semi Finals of such contrast
The first semi final was an extraordinary match with no breaks of serves , after both pairs won a set 7-6 after a tie break it was no real surprise the final set ended with a Championship tie break where the No1 seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic were beaten despite taking the opening set by the Aussie Rinky Hijikata and Dutchman David Pel , who saved two Match Points.
The match lasted almost three hours and most of the crowd had gone for refreshments as the other semi final began.
This saw the British duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glaspool dominate a much more one side match 6-3 , 6-4 against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos
The day ended with a trip to the gift shop, Henman Hill and I dropped in on some outside courts and Court 2 on the way out
Day Two – Lords
ENGLAND V INDIA – THIRD TEST – DAY TWO
A rare opportunity to attend a cricket match at the home of cricket when I was in London and not sure what to really expect.
I walked to Lords from Baker Street Tube station , as a sold out Lords looked forward to seeing Joe Root complete his century having been 99 not out overnight , which soon did , before Stokes (44), Root (104) and Woakes (a golden duck) all fell to Bumrah in an inspired seven ball period early in the day to leave England on 353/7 at lunch.
This had been a vital session for England as they built a healthy score after fans around me were speculating they wouldn’t reach 350.
Bumrah completed his 5 wicket haul before Carse reached his half century, before being bowled for 56 as England were all out for 387.
The Indian innings would see the return after a 4 year absence from Test Cricket for Jofra Archer and the talismanic bowler only took 3 deliveries to take a wicket.
India slowly recovered from the loss of two early wickets to end the day on 145/3.
The Test Match ended in a narrow 22 run victory for England
The crowd really interested me, as having been to many sporting events over the years , this was very different to anything else I have ever experienced.
There was a murmur of noise all day throughout play as people chatted constantly to friends , it seems much more of a social gathering with the occasional glance at on-field matters as opposed to most sports where people concentrate on play and chat in breaks, NFL is a similar stop start game but the fans are quiet for each play , cricket seems to be very different , and it was good to experience it.
Two amazing days of sport in glorious weather
Football is Academical 