Japan v MCC Cricket Match, Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday 28 April

The Japan national cricket team will play a match against the MCC at Lord’s Ground on Sunday 28 April. There will be no charge to attend the match but you must have a (free) ticket.

How to get tickets: apply direct for free tickets to the MCC. Ticket Office (stating your name, address and the number of tickets required): by email: ticketing@mcc.org.uk or by telephone: 020 7432 1000; or by post to Manager, Ticket Office, MCC, Lord’s Ground, London NW8 8QN. You should apply for tickets for all children (however young).

Venue: Lord’s Ground is in St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 8QN. The match will be held on the (smaller) Nursery Ground at Lord’s next to the main ground. 

Date and Timing: Sunday 28 April. Match starts at 10.45 a.m. Gates open at 9.45 a.m. End of match: variable up to 6.15 p.m. There will be a lunch interval between innings at approximately 2.15 p.m. Lunch and finish times depend on the progress of the match. You do not have to attend the whole match; you can come and go as you wish.

Lunch/food: MCC. will provide a good value lunch for those who want it. Tickets for the lunch must be ordered and paid for in advance (deadline: Wednesday 24 April), priced at £15 each. Tickets may be obtained only by post, enclosing a cheque in favour of “M.C.C.” for the appropriate amount, to: Manager, Ticket Office, M.C.C., Lord’s Ground, London, NW8 8QN.

The typically British buffet-style lunch will consist of shepherd’s pie, fish pie or vegetarian shepherd’s pie, followed by apple crumble or bread and butter pudding. The lunch will be served in the Nursery Pavilion (alongside the ground – see map). The players will also have lunch in the Nursery Pavilion.

The café in the Indoor School, also known as the Cricket Academy – will be open on the day serving light snacks such as sandwiches, with a bar serving alcoholic drinks.

You may also bring your own food into the ground.

Alcohol: Those bringing picnics may bring their own alcohol with them. There is a limit of two pints of beer or one 75cl bottle of wine per person to be brought into the ground.

Tours of the Ground: while you are at Lord’s, you may wish to take a Tour of the Ground. Tours are at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and must be booked in advance, either by telephoning 020 7616 8595 or by visiting www.lords.org . The prices of tickets for these Tours are: adults – £15; under-16s, students and over-65s – £9; family tickets (2 adults and 2 children) – £40.

Car parking: Car parking will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, with all vehicles entering via the North Gate (in Wellington Place off Wellington Road – see map)

Match facts: the match will be 50 overs each side. The captain of the MCC team will be a former England player (so the Japan side faces a tough challenge). The Japan Women’s Cricket Team will attend the match and mingle with spectators and explain how cricket is played.

Ground collection: There will be a voluntary ground collection in aid of Cricket for Smiles, the programme set up by the Japan Cricket Association (the governing body for cricket in Japan) to provide enjoyment through cricket to the many people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in North East Japan, to donate cricket equipment and resources in areas where access to sports has been severely restricted and to raise awareness outside the area of the devastation its people have suffered.

Cricket for Smiles have set up a dedicated website (http://mccvsjapan.co.uk) for the match in Japanese with a lot of useful information especially for those new to cricket such as facts about the match, profiles of some of the Japanese team, explanations about cricket and information about Cricket for Smiles.