By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) - The whistle of arrows flying across the pitch will replace the sound of leather on willow at Lord's in 2012 when archers take over cricket's spiritual home to target Olympic gold.
London 2012's organising committee (LOCOG) unveiled its plans Friday for the temporary transformation of the old north London cricket ground into an archery field.
"Lord's will be a first class venue for archery at the London 2012 Games, just as it is for cricket," said England captain Andrew Strauss after joining British archers Alison Williamson and Simon Terry to fire some arrows over the hallowed turf.
"I am very excited at the prospect of watching archery in such a spectacular setting and it will be a great profile for Lord's to be part of such an historic event."
Temporary seating for 5,000 fans will be installed on the Lord's outfield in July 2012 in readiness for the Games but Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chief executive Keith Bradshaw said it would not impact on the cricket schedule.
He said Lord's could still host two test matches that year.
"There is no impact for us financially," Bradshaw said. "We have an England against South Africa test and once we have rehabilitation of the ground and turf after the Olympics that will be done.
"At the moment we have one test and three one-day internationals in 2012 but there are other matches that have just come out for tender which we will be bidding for such as a West Indies match.
"Hopefully we can continue the tradition of having two test matches at Lord's per summer."
Lord's is one of several iconic London landmarks being used as venues during the Olympics with Wimbledon hosting tennis, Greenwich Park the equestrian events and beach volleyball at Horse Guard's Parade.
"The (Lord's) members are very excited and proud to have the archery here," Bradshaw said. "Lord's will provide a spectacular backdrop and the members know the ground won't be harmed."
Archers will fire their arrows from in front of the Lord's pavilion towards the space-age media centre that has become one of the most instantly recognisable structures in London.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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