We recently scored members seats for the Oval Pavilion to catch a cricket match. These were procured through our Sport correspondent Mark. As you can imagine, in our office Mark has a great deal of time on his hands and in fact we forgot he existed. He was therefore more than happy to give us a tour of the Pavilion and the artifacts it contains. Tours are also available to the general public.
The Pavilion acts a fascinating backdrop to the sport and we learned about the cricket prowess of legends such as Len Hutton, Graham Gooch and Stuart Broad. To be honest we’ve never heard of these people but their dedication to the sport appears to be remarkable and their achievements abound. Also abundant are trophies, jackets, bats and balls from varying generations. If you want to know more about how the Oval was the world’s first for profit sporting venue, we wrote about it a few weeks ago. Mark can be seen below pointing at a black void.
As part of our day with Mark we actually saw a match and were able to walk onto the pitch. Seated amongst a dizzyingly diverse array of geriatric white men reading actual newspapers, it was quite a revelation to learn that cricket is one of the few sports that you appreciate whilst reading, talking, or indeed even sleeping. Mark exhibited immaculate decorum when we asked such probing questions as ‘how do they get the grass stains out’ and ‘why can’t they just wear shorts’? The view from the Pavilion to the Vauxhall riviera was worth the ticket price itself.
Match play doesn’t start again until April of next year, so seeing the men in white ply their trade is one for your sparkly diary. Tickets for many matches are just £15 and its great fun. It isn’t it so fun if it is your round at the bar as three drinks set us back £28, Luckily if it’s a county fixture you can bring in your own booze. On match days there are also an impressive number of food outlets, from venison burgers to curry.
A tour of the Pavilion and grounds is a great way to know more about the sport and how it shaped Greater Kennington, and how Greater Kennington in turn shaped the Oval. Tours of the Pavilion and grounds take place at 10:30am daily. While you might not witness the unbridled fascination of seeing a man reading the Telegraph whilst asleep, you’ll learn a lot more about the national sport and the other sports that were once played there.
