England out to end Lord's hoodoo

The Australians celebrate their eight-wicket win over England at Lord's in 2001, one of 14 victories at the 'home of cricket'

England go into the second npower Test against Australia unbeaten in seven Tests at Lord’s.

But that wildly misleading statistic clouds one of the great sporting hoodoos: that England have not beaten Australia at Lord’s in three-quarters of a century.

Whereas England’s records at Edgbaston, Headingley Carnegie and the Brit Oval generally match or better Australia’s, the tourists have such unfettered supremacy at the home of cricket, that only twice in the last 113 years have they been defeated.

In 1934, England’s mirage in a desert of defeat, the Yorkshire left-arm spinner Hedley Verity gave one of the great expositions on a wet pitch. Fourteen of his 15 wickets in the match came after the rainy rest day.

Australia have won five of their last six Tests there, the exception being 1997, when rain washed out the first day and much of the second.

Arguably the closest England have come to breaking the duck was in 1968, when David Brown and Barry Knight rolled the tourists for 78 in their first innings, only for rain to intervene and leave Australia, following on, still 146 behind with six wickets left.

“It’s difficult to understand,” Geoff Miller, national selector and former England all-rounder, told ecb.co.uk. “All overseas teams come to Lord’s and it’s the mecca of cricket. And they all want to put a performance in at Lord’s.

“I’ve followed the history of the game. But it means nothing when you go into a Test match at Lord’s against Australia. What’s gone in the past is the past. Records are there to be broken.

“Our players also think it’s it’s a special environment as well. Having just put a rearguard action together at Cardiff, at least we have some momentum.”

England-Australia Lord's records

England wins: 5
Australia wins: 14
Draws: 14

England - Highest total: 494; Lowest total: 53
Australia - Highest total: 729; Lowest total: 53

1884: England won by an innings and five runs
1886: England won by an innings and 106 runs
1888: Australia won by 61 runs
1890: England won by seven wickets
1893: Draw
1896: England won by six wickets
1899: Australia won by 10 wickets
1902: Draw
1905: Draw
1909: Australia won by nine wickets
1912: Draw
1921: Australia won by eight wickets
1926: Draw
1930: Australia won by seven wickets
1934: England won by an innings and 38 runs
1938: Draw
1948: Australia won by 409 runs
1953: Draw
1956: Australia won by 185 runs
1961: Australia won by five wickets
1964: Draw
1968: Draw
1972: Australia won by eight wickets
1975: Draw
1977: Draw
1980: Draw
1981: Draw
1985: Australia won by four wickets
1989: Australia won by six wickets
1993: Australia won by an innings and 62 runs
1997: Draw
2001: Australia won by eight wickets
2005: Australia won by 239 runs

Last England victory: June 22-25, 1934
England 440 (M Leyland 109, LEG Ames 120) beat Australia 284 (WA Brown 105, H Verity 7-61) & 118 (Verity 8-43) by an innings and 38 runs.

Last Australia victory: July 21-24, 2005
Australia 190 (SJ Harmison 5-34) & 384 (MJ Clarke 91) beat England 155 (GD McGrath 5-53) & 180 (KP Pietersen 64*) by 239 runs.