Five surprising names on the Lord's Honours Board

The Lord's Cricket Ground has its own traditions which include the bell ring before the start of play on each day of a Test, honouring the best performers of each Test match by etching their name on the Lord's Honours Board etc.

Ever since the first match at the venue between arch-rivals Australia and hosts England in 1884, whenever a batsman scores at least 100 in an innings or a bowler takes at least five wickets in an innings or a 10-wicket haul in a match, the player will have his name etched in the board.

All the five honours board (England batting, England bowling, visitors batting, visitors bowling and neutral honours board for the neutral teams playing at the venue) have over 500 names across them and a the names of a lot of legendary cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan etc. not being a part of the board.

While a lot of legends not a part of the board, there are some surprising names in it. Let us take a look at five surprising names in the historic board.

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Marcus North, the bowler

The 2010 Test match between England and Australia at Lord's that saw Steve Smith make his debut for Australia as a leg-spinner is one of the two neutral matches that were played at the venue with the other being South Africa vs Australia way back in 1912. Since the players who performed in these matches will not come under England batsmen, England bowlers, visiting batsmen, visiting bowlers category, the neutral board has been established.

Former Australian middle-order batsman Marcus North is one of the four players which include former Australian cricketers Shane Watson, Warren Bardsley and Charlie Kelleway to be featuring in the board.

Surprisingly, North made it to the board not because of his batting, the art which is considered to be his primary job in the side. He got out for a duck and 20 in the two innings he batted but went on to feature in the Honours Board, something which is skipper in that match, Ricky Ponting couldn't do, by claiming six wickets in the second innings in which he finished with figures of 6/55 and helped his team beat Pakistan by 150 runs.

Mike Gatting

Mike Gatting is well known for being the victim of Shane Warne's ball of the century at Old Trafford in Manchester in 1993. But, the bowler who bowled the ball is not a part of the Honours Board while the victim somehow managed to get his name in it.

Gatting, the veteran of 79 Test matches for England, has scored 4409 runs with the help of 10 centuries. But, in spite of playing 12 matches at Lord's, the right-hander never scored a century for England as his best for the Poms there was 79.

But, his 179 for Marylebone Cricket Club against Rest of the World XI in 1987 helped him get his name on the Lord's Honours Board. Though it wasn't a Test match, the organisers decided to honour the top performers in that match by putting their names in the board.

Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar is certainly a legend of the sport as he became the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. During his time, he is one of the most fearless batsmen in the world as he took on the fiery fast bowlers from West Indies and Australia with ease.

By the time he retired, he had 10122 runs with 34 centuries in Tests, numbers that were the most by any batsman in the format at the time of his retirement. None of his 34 centuries for India came at Lord's with his highest being 59. But, the legendary batsman's name went into the board after he scored a 188 for Rest of the World against Marylebone Cricket Club in 1987.

That wasn't a Test match but the organisers decided to honour the top performers in that match by putting their names in the Lord's Honours Board.

Stuart Broad, the batsman

Without a doubt, England fast bowler Stuart Broad is one of the best fast bowlers to have played Test cricket for England and he has more chances of overtaking his bowling partner James Anderson's tally of wickets before ending his career.

Broad has won several matches for his team with the ball and has featured on the Lord's Honours Board on four occasions. He has picked a five-wicket haul in an innings at the venue twice and a 10-wicket s in the match which he took against West Indies in 2012.

What's surprising in Broad's name being on the board after all his heroics with the ball at Lord's? The surprising part is that Broad also features in the batsmen's list as his highest Test score of 169 against Pakistan, which is also his only Test ton, came at the historic venue.

Ajit Agarkar, the batsman

Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar was an underrated bowler for the Men in Blue in ODIs and was also a part of some of the memorable Test matches India have played.

This includes the historic Adelaide Test in 2003 and the 2002 Lord's Test match. In Adelaide, he picked a six-wicket haul in the second innings to set-up India's win and at Lord's, he picked just three wickets in the game, two in the first innings and one in the second.

But, one of the most shocking innings in the history of Indian cricket took place in that match. Chasing 568 runs to win, India were reduced to 170/6 and that was when Agarkar walked out to bat. He played a superb innings, reached his maiden Test century and got his name etched in the Lord's Honours Board.