Today's game between Zimbabwe and Australia was not only the first meeting between those two sides on the hallowed turf, but it also represented history in the sense that it was the first occasion on which a number of media organisations, including CricInfo, were given access to the lavish new facilities. Three of our esteemed number were afforded the privilege of enjoying the new surroundings, joining over two hundred other broadcasters and journalists in the centre to view the action.

Fronted as the imposing edifice is by eight television monitors and two elaborately sloping panels of reinforced glass, it is our judgement that the structure can be described as ``state of the art''. Whilst these things are, of course, all entirely relative the new centre affords facilities to the press that are certainly not on offer in any other of the venues being used in the course of this tournament. Compared to many of the cramped, inadequate and antiquated press boxes at other grounds of World Cup 1999, it's a delight to work in. Together with its ability to afford seating for considerably more journalists and radio and television commentators than can be found elsewhere in the UK, it also even houses a small restaurant, bar and two large hospitality suites.

Nevertheless, for all of its glamour, reaction from the men and women privileged enough to ply their trade in the building was mixed. William Whyte, of Guyana National Newspapers, said: ``the improvements, and the conclusion of those improvements, are stupendous - (this centre) encapsulates the old and the new. However, an important drawback is the fact that the televisions do not perform at all effectively''.

And the CricInfo verdict: our master of the metaphor, Trevor Chesterfield, commented that the centre reminded him - height-wise - of the box at the Wanderers' in Johannesburg and that it was a little ``cramped'', a stinging rebuke from Trevor, who as many readers may know thinks the Wanderers, is a poor cousin to his beloved Centurion Park. He also considered that the appearance of the structure ``is not a scene that fits with the changing skyline of Lord's'', whatever that means.

Our resident Zimbabwean expert and live reporter, John Ward, added that ``the view is excellent ...however, they don't seem to have allowed enough recognition for the fact that journalists bring with them computers and that they need more space than is available''. Somewhat impudently, he also noted that not enough allowance has been made ``for the three days of the year in London on which the sun shines in the afternoon'', but was surprisingly not ejected from the box, probably because he was speaking in a low whisper.

As for this correspondent, he is reserving judgement at this stage as he considers that he needs a little more time to be able to fully and completely assess its merits. Memo to accreditation agency Rushmans: please ensure that he is accredited for the Final on June 20 so that he receives the chance to do so.