History has been made at the most prestigious cricket ground in the world, with Lord's Cricket Ground in London hiring their first ever female grounds person — who also happens to be a Kiwi.
Meg Lay is the woman being etched into the books, an accomplishment she refers to as "crazy".
"I mean Lord's has been around for 210 years so it's bizarre there are still firsts but I'll take that on the chin. It's not about being a woman — for me, it's just about doing the best job I can at the best job in the world," said Lay.
The 27-year-old who played age group cricket for Canterbury, has until now, been working at Gloucestershire Cricket Club in England.
"I came over for my OE, didn't have a job lined up, was living with two professional cricketers and they came home from work one day and said their ground staff were really struggling."
Meg Lay is the woman being etched into the books, an accomplishment she refers to as "crazy". (Source: 1News)
With a background in agriculture, she offered her services and never looked back.
"When the job [at Lord's] came up, I absolutely had to go for it and never in a million years thought I'd get it," she said.
But Lay's made history in the UK before — as part of the first all-female team to prepare Edgbaston Cricket Ground for an international match and the first female to win "newcomer of the year" in the turf industry.
"Yeah I've had a bit of recognition for what I've done but it's been because I'm a woman. But I'm doing the same job as everyone else."
The humble history maker still pinches herself she gets to watch a sport she loves for a living — often witnessing some of the best athletes in the world going to work on surfaces she's helped prepare.
"It sounds really stereotypical, but my favourite part is actually cutting the grass... some people will sit on the roller for hours, and other people get stuck into the soil science — but I just love cutting grass."
Now she'll do it at the hallowed ground at Lord's; a ground that prides itself on being prepared to perfection.
"I mean it's the home of cricket, if you want to be working in cricket grounds, that's the absolute pinnacle.
"They've got the best practices and if you've got to crack out the scissors every now and then [to cut the grass], well you gotta do it."
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