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The five-minute bell

The ringing of the pre-match five-minute bell at Lord’s is a tradition introduced in 2007.

The ringing of the five-minute bell at Lord’s by an international cricketer, administrator or well-known enthusiast of the sport is a recent tradition introduced in 2007.

The bell, which is located outside the Bowlers’ Bar of the Lord’s Pavilion, is rung to signify the imminent start of play, and it has become a great honour to be invited to ring it on the morning of a Test match.

The list of respected figures reads like a who’s who of the cricketing world with many former international captains and greats having rung the bell to signal five minutes until the beginning of play.

The first such occasion at Lord’s took place when England welcomed the West Indies to the Home of Cricket in 2007. Legendary batsman Sir Vivian Richards and Peter Baxter, former producer of BBC Test Match Special, were among the bell-ringers for the match, while compatriot Sir Garfield Sobers has also had the Honour.

Sir Garfield Sobers Five Minute Bell

Later that summer, India were the visitors to Lord’s and the bell was rung by two former India captains: The Nawab of Pataudi and Sunil Gavaskar. Two of England’s greatest ever players, Sir Alec Bedser and Sir Ian Botham also took up the feted position during that match, as well as the celebrated cricket photographer Patrick Eagar.

As was the case with Richards, Gavaskar and Pataudi, it has become customary for Marylebone Cricket Club to invite compatriots from England’s opponents in the various Test series.

The list also features former England players, international players from other countries or those who have made a significant contribution to the sport, including the likes of legendary umpire "Dickie" Bird and broadcaster Isa Guha.

It isn’t always those who have made their mark on the pitch who are invited to ring the bell. As with Baxter and Eagar, several personalities from beyond the boundary have accepted the invitation, including the Jamaican Olympic sprinter Yohan Blake and revered author and broadcaster Stephen Fry.

Stephen Frye Five Minute Bell

 

Previous Bell Ringers

James Anderson’s Family
Ruth Strauss Foundation
Ian Bishop
Alex Hartley
Mahela Jayawardene
Steven Finn
Rangana Herath
Bruce Carnegie-Brown
Guy Lavender

Eoin Morgan
Miriam Grealey
Kevin and Niall O’Brien
Kevin Pietersen
Ruth Strauss Foundation 
Merv Hughes
Mark Taylor
Eleanor Oldroyd
Katherine Sciver-Brunt
Stephen Fleming

David Gower
Craig McMillan
Lord Coe
Tom Harrison
Duncan Holden – 2022 Cricket Community Champion
Ian Bell
Ruth Strauss Foundation
Alison Mitchell

Gerald Corbett
Deepti Sharma
Farokh Engineer
Ruth Strauss Foundation
Enid Bakewell
Caroline Carter - 2021 Cricket Community Champion
Malik Fergus -Wallace of Unity Works
Dr Tariq Mahmood
Joe Taylor - Community Access Westminster
Colin, Hannah, Benjie and Georgia Ingram-Moore

Isa Guha
Mel Jones
​Shane Warne
Sam and Luca Strauss
Paul Collingwood
John Reeve
Ed Joyce

Anya Shrubsole
Chris Mainstone
Sanjay Manjrekar
Ted Dexter
Azhar Mahmood
Waqar Younis
Darren Gough
Diana Keen

Heather Knight
Graeme Swann
Clive Lloyd
James Taylor
Graeme Smith
Henry Blofeld
Eileen Ash
Graeme Pollock

Mushtaq Ahmed
Marcus Trescothick
John Hampshire
Wasim Akram
Matt Prior
Kumar Sangakkara
Brendon McCullum
Phil Neale

Brett Lee
Simon Jones
Clare Connor
Ricky Ponting
Dickie Bird
Mark Nicholas
Colour Seargent Padam Gurung of the Royal Gurkha Rifles
Mike Selvey
Mark Ramprakash

Andrew Strauss
Sanath Jayasuriya
Marvan Attapattu
Phil Tufnell
Chaminda Vaas
Rahul Dravid
Stephen Fry
Claire Taylor
Kapil Dev
Sourav Ganguly

Dennis Amiss
Andy Caddick
Jeremy Coney
Ian Smith
Steve Waugh
Mike Brearley
Rodney Marsh
Glenn McGrath

Tony Cozier
Brian Lara
Chris Broad
Sir Richie Richardson
Tim Robinson
Yohan Blake
Peter Wilson
David Lloyd
Shaun Pollock
Dave Richardson

Mike Atherton
Sidath Wettimuny
Arjuna Ranatunga
Mark Butcher
Kushil Gunasekera
Alec Stewart
Duncan Fletcher
John Edrich
Dilip Vengsarkar
David Boon
Giles Clarke

Mike Denness
Bob Willis
Khaled Mahmud
Jonathan Agnew
David Morgan
Shane Warne
Mushtaq Mohammad
Alim-U-Din
Justin Langer
Nasser Hussain
Michael Vaughan
Rameez Raja
John Barclay

Michael Holding
Graham Gooch
Tony Lewis
Richie Benaud
Derek Underwood
Clive Radley
Geoffrey Boycott
Sam Loxton

Tom Graveney
Mike Gatting
Charlotte Edwards
John Reid
Geoff Howarth
Neil Harvey
Barry Richards
Tony Lewis
Alan Davidson
Doug Insole

Sir Vivian Richards
Nawab of Pataudi
Sunil Gavaskar
Patrick Eagar
Sir Alec Bedser
Sir Ian Botham
Peter Baxter