The first Test of the three-match series between England and New Zealand is taking place at Lord’s in London. England’s first match of the 2026-27 season, which kicked off at the Home of Cricket on Thursday (June 4), is a special one as it is the 150th Test match at this venue. No other stadium in the world has played host to 150 or more Test matches in the past.
In the list of cricket stadiums around the world that have played host to the most number of Test matches, Lord’s is followed by the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney Cricket Ground, Kennington Oval in London and Manchester’s Old Trafford.
While the MCG, SCG and The Oval have hosted 118, 114 and 108 Tests so far, Old Trafford has played host to 86 Test matches.
The first morning of the
international summer.
🤝 England v New Zealand
🏏 The 150th Lord’s Test
🏟️ Home of Cricket pic.twitter.com/o2ZS8Ojkk1— Lord’s Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) June 4, 2026
Prior to the start of the ongoing first Test between England and New Zealand, 98 out of 149 Tests had produced a result, whereas 51 games had ended in a draw.
A total of 143,786 runs have been scored at Lord’s, and bowlers have managed to take 4,627 wickets.
Stadium to host most Test matches
| STADIUM | CITY | HOST COUNTRY | MATCHES | WINS | TIE/DRAW | RUNS SCORED | WICKETS |
| Lord’s | London | England | 150* | 98 | 0/51 | 143786* | 4627* |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | Melbourne | Australia | 118 | 101 | 0/17 | 118309 | 3962 |
| Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney | Australia | 114 | 91 | 0/23 | 114864 | 3705 |
| Kennington Oval | London | England | 108 | 71 | 0/37 | 106145 | 3319 |
| Old Trafford | Manchester | England | 86 | 49 | 0/37 | 78419 | 2499 |
| Adelaide Oval | Adelaide | Australia | 84 | 65 | 0/19 | 98963 | 2823 |
| Headingley | Leeds | England | 82 | 64 | 0/18 | 78288 | 2618 |
| Basin Reserve | Wellington | New Zealand | 70 | 46 | 0/24 | 66490 | 2053 |
| Gabba | Brisbane | Australia | 68 | 53 | 1/14 | 68920 | 2130 |
| Trent Bridge | Nottingham | England | 67 | 43 | 0/24 | 67235 | 2065 |
Former England skipper and world No. 1 Test batter Joe Root, who will bat at No. 4 for the hosts in the ongoing first Test, tops the list of batters with the most Test runs at Lord’s. He has amassed a total of 2,166 runs in 42 innings of 23 Test matches.
In the leading run-scorers list, Root is followed by Graham Gooch (2,015), Alastair Cook (1,937), Andrew Strauss (1,562) and Alec Stewart (1,476).
Most Test Runs At Lord’s
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | 100/50 |
| Joe Root | 24* | 2166 | 200* | 8/7 |
| Graham Gooch | 21 | 2015 | 333 | 6/5 |
| Alastair Cook | 26 | 1937 | 162 | 4/12 |
| Andrew Strauss | 18 | 1562 | 161 | 5/6 |
| Alec Stewart | 20 | 1476 | 124* | 3/8 |
The record for scoring the most Test runs by a non-English player at Lord’s is held by Australia’s Steven Smith. Smith has played six Tests so far at this venue and scored 604 runs.
While Root tops the batters’ list, the record for taking the most wickets at Lord’s is in the name of former England pacer James Anderson.
Anderson played 29 Tests for the Poms at Lord’s from 2003 to 2024 and accounted for the dismissal of 129 batters. In the list of bowlers with the most wickets at Lord’s, Anderson is followed by Stuart Broad (113) and Ian Botham (69).
Most Test wickets at Lord’s
| PLAYER | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | 5-WKT HAULS |
| James Anderson | 29 | 129 | 7/42 | 7 |
| Stuart Broad | 28 | 113 | 7/44 | 3 |
| Ian Botham | 15 | 69 | 8/34 | 8 |
| Fred Trueman | 12 | 63 | 6/31 | 5 |
| Bob Willis | 9 | 47 | 7/78 | 3 |
Former New Zealand captain and legendary all-rounder Richard Hadlee is the highest wicket-taker among overseas bowlers in Tests played at Lord’s. Hadlee featured in four Tests at Lord’s for the Kiwis against England and picked up 26 wickets.
