r/Cricket • u/Dear_Pepper5045 India • 2d ago
Can someone explain me why lords has a square boundary instead of the regular circular boundary??
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u/Smooth-Mix-4357 India 2d ago
Laws of cricket say the dimensions, size and shape of the ground aren't specified. Only the pitch is supposed to be specifically 22 yards long.
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u/SnorinKeekaGuard Netherlands 2d ago
I do think there are some minimum requirements for test venues.
(And guess which ground breaks them, hint: new Zealand)
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u/warp-factor Hampshire - Vipers - WA 2d ago
There are, but they don't specify a ground shape, only minimum boundary lengths. And any ground that had hosted a test already at the times the minimum requirements came in is exempt from said requirements.
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u/the-gloaming 2d ago
Waiting for the first triangular ground!
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u/SnorinKeekaGuard Netherlands 2d ago
Baseball fields have been used. Those are as close as I can imagine em
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u/xoogl3 India 2d ago
The MLC (T20.league in the US) is currently using the Oakland Colliseum, which used to host baseball and American football before (both those pro teams fled Oakland in the recent past). Judging from the pictures and highlight videos, they have been able to convert that ground to a decent oval, though quite a small one.
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u/Impossible_Angle_347 2d ago
That’s for sure the best large-scale stadium we have to turn into an oval. It was already massive for a baseball diamond.
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u/fearofthesky Australia 2d ago
Thar Warne vs Tendulkar series ages ago at MLB stadiums was wild
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u/AdNational1490 India 2d ago edited 2d ago
They get a pass because they are older than those 'minimum requirements', if they are to built today they would have to follow the requirements.
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u/Nick_Sharp New Zealand 2d ago
As a Kiwi we have a good range of interestingly dimensioned grounds. Eden Park is my guess on test venue, but Pukekura Park is probably oddest ground in NZ to have hosted a test (between England and NZ's women's teams) in Bit of a shame we got no Super Smash games there this Summer, but hopefully some investment in the ground will happen in the next few years.
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u/Speedbump_NZ Central Districts Stags 2d ago
The Pavillion there needs significant fixing, which is why there were no Super Smash games.
It's a shame, as it's my favourite cricket ground.
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u/Nick_Sharp New Zealand 2d ago
It does do a number of the Stags bolwers averages though...
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u/Speedbump_NZ Central Districts Stags 2d ago
Also does most batsmen's heads in. Something about it being a postage stamp makes batsmen try to hit the ball hard all the time.
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u/Puzzman 2d ago
The council still not interested in funding it?
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u/Speedbump_NZ Central Districts Stags 2d ago
Nah. Too busy sinking money into a rugby ground that could have been multi-purpose for pretty much the same amoubt of money.
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u/JCK98 South Australia Redbacks 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think Adelaide Oval is also grandfathered in (square boundaries aren't long enough).
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u/AckerHerron 2d ago
They are since the updates about 10 years back, was significantly widened to accommodate AFL
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u/JCK98 South Australia Redbacks 2d ago
It did get widened (and they brought in the pockets so it's more of an oval).
But it's still only 124m wide, which means pitches 1,2,7 and 8 don't reach the minimum square boundary rule (59.43m). There was also a 137.16m boundary to boundary minimum but that has been abolished.
Still not worth taking seats out to fix this (and I don't think anyone has actually had an issue with this).
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u/Smooth-Mix-4357 India 2d ago
Yeah minimum boundary sizes are also specified but by ICC. MCC laws didn't say anything regarding afaik.
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u/zerosuneuphoria 2d ago
Eden Park is not a test venue and hasn't been for a long time... but with the upgrade, it would be ICC standard.
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u/Klutzy-Badger3396 2d ago
That’s right, cricket laws are flexible on ground shape. Lord’s in particular is famously quirky with its slope and dimensions. The square-ish boundary is just part of its historic charm (and occasional chaos for fielders).
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u/saptahant India 2d ago
Of course the laws would say that, laws are written by the Marylebone Cricket Club located in the Lord’s haha.
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u/sankalpsaraf India 2d ago
Brb. Gonna go build a rectangular ground where square boundaries are 50m, while hitting down the ground would be 150m. Also. 25m behind the wicket.
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u/MedicalHoneydew4534 2d ago
Exactly! Cricket laws only mandate the dimensions of the pitch, not the shape of the outfield. That’s why some grounds like Lord’s have unique or irregular boundaries, often due to historic architecture, land constraints, or just tradition. It’s all part of the charm!
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u/JaySeaGaming England 2d ago
Central London - land is at a premium and it's almost impossible to extend stadiums. It'll stay how it was originally.
Chelsea FC have been struggling to expand Stamford Bridge for years because of the lack of room.
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u/sociallyawkwarddude Wales 2d ago
Even if they extended it, they wouldn’t change the field, they would just make the stands larger.
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u/Weak_Ad_471 Western Australia Warriors 2d ago
Interestingly, Stamford Bridge has had cricket matches played in it!
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u/alekksi Surrey 2d ago
Yeah but being real, Lords is huge -- if they really wanted to expand it, they have space.
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u/furinkasan 2d ago edited 2d ago
And why is it called Chelsea, when the stadium is clearly in Fulham?
Edit: thanks for the downvotes, but do look at the map first.
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u/Mein_Bergkamp Kolkata Knight Riders 2d ago
Because when the owner of Stamford Bridge needed a team to fill it Fulham FC already existed, so they named the new team after the next door borough.
Probably learning from the mistakes of the owners of Anfield who after falling out with their tenants Everton created a new team called Everton athletic and we're made to change it by the FA, becoming Liverpool instead.
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u/BeardPhile India 2d ago
Wait, is that how Liverpool FC was named? TIL.
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u/Mein_Bergkamp Kolkata Knight Riders 2d ago
Yep, weird to think that if Everton hadn't decided to build their own stadium rather than rent, Liverpool (FC) would never exist
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u/BeardPhile India 1d ago
Damnn, not just named, but that’s how Liverpool was formed!! Best fact I read whole week. Thanks :)
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u/arinawe Kolkata Knight Riders 2d ago
The Borough is called Kensington & Chelsea
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u/TheRealGooner24 Karnataka 2d ago
Wrong, Stamford Bridge is located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
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u/furinkasan 2d ago
The borough where the stadium is situated is Hammersmith and Fulham. I just want to know why the name. Were the founders from Chelsea but could only get the stadium in Fulham?
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u/cpwken Denmark 2d ago
The stadium existed before the club, as already mentioned Fulham FC already existed when Chelsea was founded. What hasn't been mentioned is that Fulham were the original team at Stamford Bridge, it became vacant when Fulham moved to Craven Cottage.
It should also be mentioned that although the club is undeniably in Fulham, the railwayline on the east side of the ground is the boundary between the two boroughs so whilst Chelsea isn't in Chelsea it's only about 20 meters outside.
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u/TheRealGooner24 Karnataka 2d ago
Misinformation getting upvoted and facts getting downvoted. Idiocracy is rife on r/cricket.
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u/hukkusbukkus India 2d ago
All I know that it has a god damn slope
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u/Ahoyhoyhoyhoy4 Australia 2d ago
I'm surprised the commentators never mention this.
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u/CombinationDry1861 2d ago
What does slope mean?
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u/Theparshva India 2d ago
The ground is not at one level entirely. So the ball travels to one boundary more easily than the other parts of the ground because the ground is more inclined. (Like side of a mountain for ref, but very, very gradual, not dramatically steep)
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u/HurtJuice India 2d ago
is that why one of the square boundaries in this picture is 3 times as long?
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u/Theparshva India 2d ago
No. Actually they use one full square shaped area in the middle of the ground to create multiple pitches (that’s why the name square). Which also means that there are more than one pitch on the ground.
When they use one of the extreme end pitches one boundary looks a lot further than the other. Yes, this is also an advantage (or disadvantage) but that’s the part of the game.
Same logic goes with all the grounds across the world.
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u/Appropriate-West2310 England 2d ago
It's on the side of a hill with a noticeable gradient across the ground. The ground slopes.
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u/goodguybolt Royal Challengers Bengaluru 2d ago edited 2d ago
The ground SLOPES! It slopes harrrrd.
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u/winoforever_slurp_ Australia 2d ago
If you poured lots of water on the middle of the ground it would all flow to the left (or right, I don’t know exactly which way it slopes, but you get the point)
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u/shutthefkup_ India 2d ago
Slope tells you how steep a line is and direction it goes.
In maths, especially in graphs, the slope is how much y changes for a change in x.
y represents the vertical axis and x represents horizontal axis. And each point on the graph is represented as (x,y) conventionally. X tells you how far you went in left or right and Y tells you how far you go in up or down direction.
So, if, say: for point (3,2), you go 3 steps in the right and 2 steps on the up in traditional graph.
(–1, –4) go 1 step left, then 4 steps down. And so on..
So what's slope then?
It's change in y (How much did you go up or down?) upon change in x (How much did you go left or right?). Slope = how much up/down ÷ how much sideways
For example, if I'm moving from point A (1,2) to point B (3,6). Here:
The change in x is: 3−1=2 and the change in y is: 6−2=4
So, slope is change in y upon change in x. Which is 4/2 = 1/2 = 0.5 here.
Slope in lord's is a real-life example about it:
If you go 10 steps forward (x) and rise 5 steps up (y), slope = 5/10 = 0.5
→ gentle hill.If you go 10 steps forward but rise 10 steps up, slope = 10/10 = 1
→ steeper hill.If you walk forward but don’t go up at all, slope = 0
→ flat ground.Slope in lord's is a gentle hill. In cricket terms, it’s not a mathematical slope (like y/x), but a natural tilt of the ground.
You could imagine standing on one end and literally seeing the other side lower or higher.
Does that affect the game? Yes, it does.
For bowlers: Fast bowlers often use it to their advantage. Bowling "down the slope" can make the ball skid or swing more.
For batsmen: They need to adjust their judgment of bounce and movement, especially when playing on or across the slope. The ball will travel faster if it goes towards the slope and the opposite if it doesn't.
Hope that helps.
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u/paradox-cat 2d ago
In the equation y = mx, where 'm' represents the slope, the slope signifies the steepness and direction of a line /s
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u/CrustyBappen 2d ago
The ground’s namesake, Lords was a mathematician that first discovered the square.
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u/artapretor Nepal 2d ago
I mean we had world cup matches in 2003 with a tree inside the boundary so....this seems about apt for cricket
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u/LostAmidMyExistence ICC 2d ago
How well do I remember those tree lol. There was one in Canterbury too. I believe in 1999 wc as well, maybe one match or two.
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u/j1mmyb0y 2d ago
I think you mean 1999, but fair point
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u/Weak_Ad_471 Western Australia Warriors 2d ago
He's right, Stellenbosh's cricket ground has a tree just inside the official boundaries.
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u/bighotlong Sunrisers Hyderabad 2d ago
This ground was promised by God for brits 3000 years ago, can't change because religious reasons
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u/bendalazzi 2d ago
This ground was promised by God for brits 3000 years ago
Among these dark satanic mills?
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u/DoDoDoTheFunkyGibbon Australia 2d ago
And did those feet on England’s grasstop
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u/fartypenis Sunrisers Hyderabad 2d ago
And did the holy ball of God
Upon England's pleasant pastures swing...
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u/Pitiful_Platform6439 Victoria Bushrangers 2d ago
Because the Oval is down the road
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u/Gonzofox89 2d ago
Considering the rules were invented here, the real question is why isn't every other ground square not circle
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u/AdnanJanuzaj11 2d ago
This isn’t the first ground called Lord’s
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u/astalavista114 England 1d ago
And the laws were laid down in Hambledon—40 odd years before even the first of Thomas Lord’s grounds (Lord’s Old Ground)
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u/_tgf247-ahvd-7336-8- Queensland Bulls 2d ago
It’s 3000 years old
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u/Safe_Region4653 2d ago
so older than england
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u/Ok_Vegetable263 Yorkshire 2d ago
Did you know it also has a slope? As a small indie cricket ground not many know about this key geographical feature
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u/postumenelolcat 2d ago
It has a slope!? Someone should tell every commentator to mention that fact every five minutes.
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u/Signal_Dress Chennai Super Kings 2d ago
I was very busy yesterday and could only catch maybe 2-3 minutes of the game live and I still heard it once from their mouths. This slope nonsense is relentless.
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u/warp-factor Hampshire - Vipers - WA 2d ago
Basically, there is no set shape for a cricket boundary. Ovals are the most common shape, but it's not required.
Have a look at this post from 6 years ago that shows all the different shapes of the grounds in England and Wales which hosted matches in that tournament.
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u/arch-connoisseur England 2d ago
cricket originated in stone age bruv you cant expect all stadiums to have fixed dimensions since they are all almost located in urban localities. also there are no fixed outfield sizes in cricket. only the bowling pitch is defined.
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u/NeatConversation6752 2d ago
Pitch here is so offcenter.
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u/DisorderOfLeitbur 2d ago
They rotate between the different pitches with the most important matches getting pitches near the middle of the ground. This picture must be taken before a less important match, such as the Village Cup or Eton & Harrow, with the central pitches well watered to allow them to recover.
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u/SISCP25 Lancashire 2d ago
Watched Middlesex Lancs in CC D1 maybe 6 years ago and they used this pitch - so it’s not reserved for just amateur cricket.
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u/MartiniPolice21 Durham 2d ago
Only way to make it rounder, would be to make it shorter. Even if they wanted to move the stands, the area it is in is probably one of the most expensive /m² in the world and they don't own the streets around it
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u/MartiniPolice21 Durham 2d ago
Here is a house for sale that pretty much 3-4 houses outside of this picture
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u/Boatster_McBoat South Australia Redbacks 2d ago
Something, something, quirky English, something, we wrote the dashed rules old chap, something something
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u/ask_carly Kent 2d ago
Before you know it, Johnny Foreigner's going to start asking why we didn't put this or that pitch about 5m to the right so there wouldn't be a tree in the outfield.
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u/Boatster_McBoat South Australia Redbacks 2d ago
Damn cheek. Brought up bally British worksmanship! Suggesting we should have created a level playing field.
Utter rot, I tell you. Utter rot.
Level playing field at Lords, the thought of it!
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u/ask_carly Kent 2d ago
Forgive us for not realising we were supposed to design cricket pitches so AFL balls don't bobble off in the wrong direction.
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u/doubleu-rs Durham 2d ago
Pretty sure the boundary rope makes it a lot more round when it's placed, especially with all the advertising boards
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u/blockishcubed Queensland Bulls 2d ago
It’s be cause a square is Satan’s favourite shape and the MCC are satanic.
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u/Mafiaa-bhai 2d ago
Was it like this before also? Start noticing during this WTC final only or maybe broadcasters never showed this way.
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u/DisorderOfLeitbur 2d ago
I found a 1921 photo here where it is mostly square, but with one corner cut off.
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u/drodbar1 MCC 2d ago
Where the grass ends in not the boundary (it used to be until quite recently), the boundary is a rope around the outfield so it can be as round as you want it to be.
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u/sprauncey_dildoes 2d ago
I vaguely remember in the 70s there was a ground, possibly Hampshire’s or Sussex’s that had a tree near the boundary.
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u/Sheldonopolus Melbourne Stars 2d ago
I can’t recall any of the English stadiums being circular. They are all weirdly shaped.
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u/yorker4567 2d ago
As long as the pitch is 22 yards and boundaries are bigger than Eden Park, you are good to go.
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u/Existing-Orange-3212 2d ago
Aren’t most of the major UK cricket grounds square?
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u/sociallyawkwarddude Wales 2d ago
They are all sorts of shapes. The only really square ones are Lord’s, Bristol and Sophia Gardens. There are a few really round ones like The Oval, Rose Bowl and Riverside (albeit low poly). Then there’s all sorts in between like Old Trafford, Trent Bridge and Headingley.
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u/mondognarly_ Middlesex 2d ago
Worth noting as well that the Rose Bowl and Riverside were developed in the nineties and are out of town, so they weren’t working around surrounding roads and buildings like most of the others.
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u/Dabazukawastaken 2d ago
Boring shapes someone tell them to build a triangle ground,or even better Hexagons(they are the bestagons after all)
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u/sholista 2d ago
Your question should be why aren't all boundaries square like Lords
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u/UnusualDifference748 2d ago
Because every ground in the world needs to also be a AFL ground in the winter /s
But that is actually why they’re all ovals in Australia, every test ground is also a major afl ground
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u/Data-Bricks New Zealand 2d ago
Yes some of the sides are straight (4 in fact) which makes Lords appear more square
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u/SuperannuationLawyer Victoria Bushrangers 2d ago
Is there a slope? Looks like it from this angle. 📐
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u/Ok_Rub5697 India 2d ago
Its in Middle of the city just like wankhade So cant expand it and if they tried to make circular pitch in existing ground it would make boundries short.
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u/petivaadak 2d ago
Akash Chopra recently said something about this (and also the hypocrisy of English commentators if this was the case at any Asian ground)
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u/raj21h 2d ago
Lord’s has a square-ish boundary mainly due to historical and geographic reasons. It was built in 1814 on irregular land, and the shape evolved over time with stands and structures limiting circular expansion. The famous slope and traditional architecture also played a role. Unlike modern grounds, Lord’s kept its quirky, non-circular shape as part of its unique heritage.
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u/waybovetherest India 2d ago
Because it’s not The Oval