£175 TO WATCH ENGLAND PLAY AT LORD'S? IT'S ELITIST NONSENSE AND BEGGARS BELIEF. THE WARNING SIGNS ARE FLASHING, WRITES DAVID LLOYD

Prices for next July's third Test between England and India have been increased
The cheapest seats will set spectators back £90 despite having a restricted view
More than ever, Test cricket is now in danger of becoming an elite showpiece

No doubt Lord's will still be full, but increasing ticket prices to a whopping £175 for next July's third Test between England and India beggars belief.

The cheapest seat on days one to three will set you back £90, with the caveat of it being a restricted view. Being asked to pay that amount of money to attend a cricket match without being able to see some acreage of the field is laughable. What can't you see? The batsman? The great catch down at fine leg?

The warning signs are flashing. More than ever, Test cricket is in danger of becoming an elite showpiece, of narrowing the cross section of society who will even consider attending such an event.

Yes, the television cameras pick out celebrities in the crowd on such occasions, which is great fun, but you've got to cater for everybody.

To some extent Lord's sets the benchmark for the rest of the country on this subject and what are the other grounds out in the shires going to do if an adult ticket sets you back between £120-£175?

Who actually sets the price? Name names. Who says: I think it should be X? And who responds: Aye, seems about right. I'd like to know the answer.

These people are in a totally different ball park to me. Sure, things all look rather jolly at Lord's when stewards wander on to the hallowed turf at the end of every over and collect popped champagne corks. Try throwing a can of Tetley's over the boundary rope at Headingley and see where that gets you!

I'm the voice of the everyday fan. The kind that likes to be behind the goal at a football match with a pie and Bovril.

So, the face value cost of attending a single day of a Lord's Test is utterly preposterous to me. The MCC seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

They are risking losing the connectivity between this fabulous England Test team led by Ben Stokes and the public.

If you want evidence of people thinking like me, dive on to social media. It's full of those who say they can't afford to go.

Times are tough at the minute. I'm retired, and I can't justify £120-£175. That doesn't fit my priorities. To me, a round figure of £100 for the very best seats in the house seems right. And £50-£60 for other parts of the famous 31,000-capacity ground.

Lord's is the home of cricket. The top players from around the world want to play there. It's a bit of a pilgrimage for cricketers and supporters alike. Administrators should take all this into consideration and price it appropriately.

A Lord's Test match remains one of the summer's sporting crown jewels. It's the Wimbledon of cricket, I suppose.

After this month's fiasco when a crowd of just 9,000 turned up on day four to see victory wrapped up against Sri Lanka, you would have thought lessons would have been learned.

Yet, they are still asking for £50 for a restricted view of Virat Kohli and Co on day four next summer and as much as £150 for a clear sight. An annual increase of seven per cent.

To be fair, MCC bosses did say they would be reviewing things after swathes of empty seats diluted the sense of occasion an England victory should represent.

They have probably concluded that the thousands of British-based Indian supporters will be desperate to snap them up, and those who use it for corporate entertainment will be back too. Just not me and you.

2024-09-25T22:11:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd