The Corridor (a cricket blog)

England still have a lot to do if they’re to end the 75-year wait for an Ashes win at Lord’s, but they could not be in a more dominant position. Matt Prior played with Gilchristian urgency; England themselves pottered, then swaggered, with Australian cockiness. This was another day of grinding their noses into the dirt, and the long wait is nearly over.

It was on June 25, 1934, that England last beat Australia at Lord’s – and that, too, ended a fairly long period of Australian dominance (1896 was England’s last win before then). But what was life like back then? Well…

• Rexford G. Tugwell was on the front cover of Time Magazine
• There were 16 hours and 37 minutes of sunlight in Bath
• Sunrise was at 4.53am BST. Stunning
• It was a Monday. On the Saturday, Hitler consolidated his power with the Night of the Long Knives. If only Bob Wyatt hadn’t been so drunk in celebration, he might have had the inclination to stop him
• Stanley Baldwin recently became Prime Minister for a triumphant third term, replacing the now senile Ramsay MacDonald. Two fantastic names, I think you’ll agree.
• The composer Kurt Schwertsik was born, though whether this was before or after England’s win is impossible to say. Happy birthday Kurt.

But the really big event was England beating Australia, and Hedley Verity scything through Australia like a particularly cunning knife through melting, warm, Australian butter. What made his achievement all the more remarkable was that the pitch “could scarcely be described as genuinely sticky except for one period after lunch,” according to Wisden. That’s right. Verity spun them out on a non-sticky patch.

And finally, here’s a photo of queuing crowds at Lord’s