5 facts about English cricket history that you probably didn't know

#1 Lord's wasn't the first ground to host a Test match

A Test match at progress at Lord's

Now, Lord's is known as the 'Home of Cricket' and houses the offices of the historic Marylebone Cricket Club, which controlled English cricket for more than a century. So, anyone would think that it must be the ground to have been the first ground in England to have hosted a Test match and in fact, it is a popular perception.

However, the truth is completely different.

The first cricket ground to have ever hosted a Test match is actually the other ground in London, the Oval. It was the venue of England's first ever Test match when England played Australia in September 1880.

The second stadium to have hosted a Test match was Old Trafford, where an Ashes Test took place in 1884 and it was in that very season, that Lord's hosted its first ever Test match.

The game was played between England and Australia from 21st to 23rd of July 1884 as Lord's became the third international venue in England. England thrashed Australia by an innings and 5 runs in that game.