Is it a paradox or an irony, or both, that the black, blank look of an obsolete manual scoreboard matches the black, blank look of their replacements, electronic scoreboards, on non-game days?

Now, maybe these old scoreboards are used from time to time. Maybe there are hand-painted numbers that are hung  on rusty nails from time to time. Maybe there’s a retro round.

But it’s more likely the old scoreboard’s castle is now the hub (you’ve gotta have a hub these days) of electronica, with laptops and wi-fi and a coffee machine and a microwave and whatever else is required. Heaters, hopefully.

At Kew, the adjoining grounds have adjoining old scoreboards, with the junior ground scoring the smaller scoreboard. But they are equals when it comes to electronica. Both have new similar-sized scoreboards, but there was no compulsion to photograph their black emptiness. No doubt they come to life on game day.