When Thomas Lord, a small time Yorkshire-born cricketer moved over south to Norfolk and then to London late in the eighteenth century to seek fortune and better living, little then he had realised that his name will forever be associated with the game of cricket and Lord’s cricket ground which he founded in 1787.

Not many however realise that the living monument of his, the present day Lord’s where the second Test of the present ‘Ashes’ starts today is not the original venue. In fact, the first two Lord’s cricket grounds which Thomas Lord developed are only a stone’s throw from the present site.

The first ground he built was at Dorset Fields which is now Dorset Square and as developers moved in to claim the land he moved his ground to nearby Regents Park which also had to be abandoned by him in similar circumstances to acquire another lease of the land which now is considered to be the temple of the game and a sacred turf for those who play on it.

As a first-class cricketer for Middlesex and Marylebone Cricket Club, Lord also played 90 matches as a useful bowler.

Winning a Test or scoring a hundred and taking five or more wickets by any one playing in a Test here is considered to be a unique feat and a prestigious effort.

Although the first Test on English soil was played at The Oval against Australia, it was not until 1884 that the two archrivals played a Test at Lord’s in which England beat Australia comprehensively and by an innings.

The first Australians who ever played here at Lord’s were not the colonialists but in fact the aborigines of Australia who in 1868 played at Lord’s.

From 1884 to now, the two teams have played 34 Tests at Lord’s of which Australia have won 14 and lost only 6, obviously a proud record at the headquarters of cricket. They now play another when they face Alastair Cook’s side in the present series.

Having lost the first match at Trent Bridge in an exciting finish, it will take a lot of doing for Michael Clarke’s men to make a comeback and then try and snatch the Ashes from England.

Before the start of the series the two countries had played 326 Tests of which England won 102 and Australia 133. But that was all in the past. What matters most now is the series at hand and England with their tails up look a better side.

Reports of dissension within the team during their tour of India and Mickey Arthur’s recent sacking as a coach and his claim of racism against him does not really augur well when the Australians are on a mission to redeem their recent fall from being the top ranking team to an outfit which at the moment is struggling to regain their lost pride at all levels of the game.

Lord’s, more than any other arena around the world, brings the best out of teams and the players who over the years have had the opportunity to play at the top level for their country.

In the record books I notice that great Don Bradman played four Tests at Lord’s, scoring 254 here on the 1930 tour besides his triple century at Headingley and 102 not out followed by another century at Lord’s on the 1938 tour.

The most bewildering and an eye-catching performance that I witnessed at Lord’s was in 1972 when Bob Massie, a rookie medium-fast bowler picked up 16 wickets in the Ashes Test with his prodigious swing bowling, the like of which was never witnessed again.

Gordon Greenidge’s double century in chase of over 300 runs in a Test against England was a swashbuckling knock as was Graham Gooche’s 331, the highest ever at Lord’s in a Test in 1990 against India is as clear as daylight to me.

So are Hanif Mohammad’s magnificent 187 in the 1967 Test and Mohsin Khan’s double century in 1982, not forgetting of course Mohammad Yousuf and Mahela Jayawardene double centuries on the same venue.

History says that the discoverer captain James Cook claimed Australia in 1770. In 2013 it is now Alastair Cook who for the first time as a captain in The Ashes series is determined to make his own mark against the old rivals.