Any cricket fans who are parents will know the struggle of trying to get a stroller into a cricket ground. The stadiums are often packed out, especially during limited overs cricket matches, so they advise against bringing a stroller with you. If you do, you might even be refused entry due to the fact that there is no place to put it and that it could become a hazard in the event of an emergency.
One Cricket Ground in England is Trying to Change That
Those of us who are cricket fans will have heard of Lord’s – after all, it is the home of cricket. Lord’s is one of the most spectacular cricket venues in the world and players and fans alike love nothing more than playing or watching a cricket game at this iconic stadium. However, the one issue that people have with it is that it cannot accommodate strollers.
Those in charge of Lord’s, the Marylebone Cricket Club, have decided that it is about time that something was done to fix this. Kumar Sangakkara, the great Sri Lankan batsman, is the current President of the MCC and he has decided that enough is enough. He was elected in May 2019, making him the first non-British President of this prestigious club.
Every three months, the MCC release a magazine for their members to keep them up to date with what is happening. In the latest edition, Sangakkara announced that Lord’s would be creating a facility where parents who came to watch matches could leave their strollers free of charge.
In a statement he said, “I have been involved in cricket for many decades now and it has always bothered me that parents with young children have to carry them to the stadiums on match day because there are no pushchair facilities. This can be a huge inconvenience and can even take away from the experience. We always want people to enjoy their day out at this majestic venue, so we knew that something needed to be done to rectify this issue. Therefore, we all sat down and discussed what we could do. In the end, we decided that we would build a shed just outside the stadium that can facilitate up to 100 pushchairs. On arrival at the ground, you just need to inform the attendant that you have a pushchair and they will give you a numbered label. Someone will then come and take your pushchair and you can collect it once the game has finished. This way, parents won’t be burdened with having to carry their children to the ground and there will be no blockages in the aisles should there be a need for a quick exit from the ground.”
Hopefully More Grounds Around the World Will Follow Suit
Lord’s is the only stadium at the moment that has such a facility for strollers, but if it is a huge success for Lord’s then we are certain that other stadiums all over the world we start to copy them.
If they do, then a day out at the cricket will surely be a lot better for parents with young children as they won’t have to spend time trying to work out how they are going to get their children to the cricket stadium.
If this idea takes off, then cricket-loving parents all over the world will have Kumar Sangakkara to thank.