Lords.org live commentary service

Lords.org offers a free, online live text commentary service of all the major international matches at Lord's - The Home of Cricket.

Why choose Lords.org?

Unlike some "live" commentary services we're not reporting on delayed TV pictures.

We're sat right amidst the action, in the world's most famous cricket ground, so we can give you a taste of the atmosphere, the latest pictures and all the action live - the moment it happens.

This season our scoring is even faster than ever. We're linked directly to the scorebox at Lord's. The minute the match's official scorers note a run, a ball or anything else, you'll know about it.

Try us out, we're sure you'll be hit for "SIX" by our coverage.

• Sample our coverage from England's Ashes win last year

Our quick-reference icons mean you can follow the action at a glance - (even if you have to step away from your desk for a cup of "tea").

You can see in a moment if there's been a wicket, a big-hit or any other key match event.

Smart colour-coding means it's even easier to follow the action - in the time it takes to minimize a spreadsheet!

We also try not to baffle you with science or jargon. Whether you're a cricket buff or a total new-comer we'll make it clear what's happening and what it means.

Introducing the icons

We've got twenty icons to cover all the major match events - so you can see in a moment what's happened and, thanks to our colour-coding, which team has done it.

Take these two: "new bowler" (left) and "Out!" (right). Green and gold means the Aussies have called on a new bowler for the over; blue and white means England have taken a wicket - hopefully we'll be seeing a lot of that last one this summer!

We've got colour-coded icons for all the major international teams.

Other key icons

Batting team

With most of these icons England fans will want to see them blue and white - meaning England are scoring "4s" (hitting the ball to the boundary) and "6s" (to the boundary without bouncing)

The "50", "100", "150" and "200" icons are for when batsmen having a good innings reach those landmark totals. The dreaded "duck" is when a batsman is out having scored no runs at all - a duck egg, nought.

Bowling team

The bowling icons cover, in order from top left: a "new bowler" coming on to bowl the next over; a "maiden" over - an over (six balls) bowled without conceding a run.

"Out" is the umpire's finger going up to signal a batsman's out. A "hat-trick" is a bowler taking three wickets in three balls. A "new ball" may be taken by the fielding side, usually after 80 overs. It's considered an advantage for faster bowlers.

"Five for" and "ten for" are when a bowler takes five wickets in an innings or ten in a match - either will get their name on the famous Lord's Honours Boards.

Match situation

These ones are all pretty self explanatory - but may at least help explain why the usual, super-fast up-to-the-minute action on Lords.org has slowed slightly!