The Cricketer and Lord's in partnership

In 2013 The Cricketer will produce its Good Gear Guide in partnership with MCC, promoting the Home of Cricket's new Lord's Cricket Store.

After taking feedback from manufacturers, retailers and players, the magazine will be exposing equipment to the same selection process faced by every piece of kit when sent to retailers and placed on the shelf for sale. In short, does it look the part? And does it play the part?

To create these High Street conditions the Lord's Cricket Store will open their on-shelf range to the scrutiny of our panel, offering a free choice of what to test and what to ignore.

The panel will include members of The Cricketer staff, readers of the title and, under cover of darkness, 'The Don', our secret county cricketer who is a contributor to the world's No.1 cricket magazine.

The chosen equipment will then be put through its paces within the famous MCC Cricket Academy and the performance results added to the look and feel scores. Duncan Copplestone, MCC Retail Manager, said: "Our fantastic new Lord's Cricket Store is situated adjacent to the MCC Cricket Academy meaning the bats being tested will go from being on-shelf to on trial within seconds. This is a great advert for our purpose-built facility and a perfect fit between two progressive businesses, both with a proud heritage."

Andrew Miller, Editor of The Cricketer, added: "The Good Gear Guide has always been a superb feature, but this is a real leap forward in its evolution. The best bats will have to stand out from the crowd to be noticed in the first instance, have the right weight and feel to be taken out of the Lord's Cricket Store, and finally they'll have to live up to expectations in the nets. It promises to be the ultimate test."

A day has been set for testing in early January and the results will be published in the Good Gear Guide feature, appearing in the March issue of The Cricketer, which hits the newsstand on February 15, 2013.

YOU CAN WIN THE CHANCE to be part of the Good Gear Guide testing panel at Lord's, and take three of your mates with you, by answering the question below and sending your entry to competitions@thecricketer.com by Friday, December 14 (with the subject line 'Good Gear Guide 2013'). Testing day is Thursday, January 10 and you and your friends will also be treated to a one-hour coaching session with a qualified MCC coach, utilising Hawk-Eye technology.

Lord's is known worldwide as what?
A. The Crucible of Cricket
B. The Host of Cricket
c. The Home of Cricket

Good luck!

Date: 23/11/2012 09:42:44 by DBrigham
In: Today | England |