 | |
| Team information | |
|---|---|
| City | St John's Wood,London,England |
| Founded | 1787; 239 years ago (1787) |
| Home ground | Lord's Cricket Ground |
| Official website | lords.org/mcc |
TheMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a world-famouscricket club founded in 1787, whoseLord's headquarters are dubbed "the Home of Cricket".
Lord's Cricket Ground has been owned since Victorian times by MCC, which served ascricket's governing body from 1788 to 1909 and retains considerable global influence.[1]Thomas Lord first established a cricket ground atDorset Fields inMarylebone.Lord's Cricket Ground relocated in 1814 to nearbySt John's Wood, historically inMiddlesex and now in theCity of Westminster,London NW8.
In 1788, the MCC assumed oversight for theLaws of Cricket, issuing a revised version that year. Changes to theseLaws are nowadays determined by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC), with copyright retained by MCC.[2] Established in 1909, the ICC was administered for eighty years by the Secretary to Marylebone Cricket Club and chaired by the MCC Presidentex officio.[3][4]
MCC was given responsibility for organisingEnglandTest cricketoverseas tours commencing with the1903–04 tour of Australia and ending with its1976–77 tour of India,[5] both being victorious. England also played non-international matches overseas under theauspices of MCC.
In 1993, MCC transferred global cricket governance to theInternational Cricket Council (ICC), devolving domestic administration to theTest and County Cricket Board (TCCB).
Retainingfirst-class status when MCC plays first-class opposition, the club continues to promote the game by fieldingad hoc MCC XIs from a pool of circa 2,000 playing members, varying standards accordingly.
The outgoingMCC President, theLord King of LothburyKG,[6] nominatedEd Smith as his successor for 2026.[7]
The origin of MCC was as agentlemen's club that had flourished through most of the 18th century, including, at least in part, an existence as the originalLondon Cricket Club, which played at theHACcricket ground in the mid-1700s. Many of its members left for theHambledon Club during the 1770s and then, in the early 1780s, returned to London's environs when theWhite Conduit Club began playing cricket inIslington. It is not known for certain when the White Conduit was established but it seems to have been after 1780 and certainly by 1785. According toSir Pelham Warner, it was formed before 1782 as an offshoot from aWest Endconvivial club called theJe-ne-sais-Quoi, some of whose members frequented theWhite Conduit House inIslington and played matches on the neighbouringWhite Conduit Fields, a prominent venue for cricket in the 1720s.[8]
Arthur Haygarth states inScores and Biographies that "the Marylebone Club was founded in 1787 from White Conduit members" but the date when it was established "could not be found".[9] This gentlemen's club convened for multi-purpose social meetings at theStar & Garter Inn onPall Mall. Having undertaken to draft theLaws of Cricket at various times, most notably in 1744 and 1774, the White Conduit soon vested such law-making with the MCC as the final repose of cricketing gentlemen. At the White Conduit Club's outset, its leading lights wereGeorge Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham (1752–1826) andColonel the Hon. Charles Lennox (1764–1819), who later became the4th Duke of Richmond. The White Conduit was nominally an exclusive club that only "gentlemen" could play for, but the club did engageprofessionals and one of these wasThomas Lord, recognised for his business acumen (being a successfulwinemerchant) "as well as his bowling ability".[10][11]
The New Club may have continued there, save that White Conduit Fields was anopen area where the public, including rowdier types, could watch cricket matches and voice their opinions on the play and players. The White Conduit members were not amused by such interruptions and decided to seek their own enclosed venue.[11] Lord Winchilsea and Colonel Lennox asked Lord to find a new ground offering him a guarantee against any losses he may suffer in the venture.[12][11] Lord took a lease from thePortman Estate on Dorset Fields whereDorset Square is now sited; and preparedthe ground opening in 1787. Initially called the "New Cricket Ground", being nearby "the New Road" inMarylebone when the first-known match was played there on 21 May, by the end of July 1787, it was known asLord's.[13] As it was in Marylebone, the White Conduit members who relocated there soon decided to rename themselves the "Mary-le-bone Club".[14] The exact date of MCC's foundation is lost but seems to have been sometime in the late spring or the summer of 1787.[15] On 10 & 11 July 1837, aSouth v North match was staged at Lord's to commemorate the MCC Golden Jubilee. Warner described it as "a Grand Match to celebrate the Jubilee of the Club" and reproduced the full scorecard.[15][16]
On 25 April 1787, London'sMorning Herald newspaper carried a notice: "The Members of the Cricket Club are desired to meet at theStar & Garter, Pall Mall, on Mon., April 30. Dinner on table exactly at half past five o'clock.N.B. The favour of an answer is desired".[13] Its agenda unspecified, only three weeks later on Saturday, 19 May, theMorning Herald advertised: "A grand match will be played on Monday, 21 May in the New Cricket Ground, the New Road, Mary-le-bone, between eleven Noblemen of the White Conduit Club and eleven Gentlemen of the County of Middlesex with two men given, for 500 guineas a side. The wickets to be pitched at ten o'clock, and the match to be played out". No post-match report has yet been found but, asG. B. Buckley states, it was "apparently the first match to be played on Lord's new ground".[13]
A total of eight matches are known to have been played at Lord's in 1787, one of them asingle-wicket event. The only one featuring the Mary-le-bone Club took place on Monday, 30 July. It was advertised inThe World on Friday, 27 July 1787: "On Monday, 30 July will be played (at Lord's) a match between 11 gentlemen of the Mary-le-bone Club and 11 gentlemen of the Islington Club".[14] "This is the earliest notice of the Marylebone Club" according to Buckley[14] and as with Lord's inaugural fixture, no post-match report of MCC's inaugural game survives.
There have been three Lord's cricket grounds: the original on thePortman Estate and two on theEyre Estate. All three sites lie to the west ofRegent's Park in London. Thomas Lord leased the original ground, now referred to asLord's Old Ground, from the Portman Estate in 1787 and MCC played there until 1810 when Lord, after objecting to a rent increase, decided on terminating the lease to lift his turf and move out.[15] Over 200 matches were known to be played there, mostly involving MCC and/orMiddlesex XIs. Lord's Old Ground was on the site now occupied byDorset Square, just east ofMarylebone Station and west ofBaker Street. To commemorate MCC's association, a plaque was unveiled at Dorset Square on 9 May 2006 bySir Andrew Strauss.
With advance knowledge of the Portman Estate's intention to lease its land for building houses commanding much higher rents of over £600 per annum,[15] on 15 October 1808, Lord secured two fields on the North Bank area of the St John's Wood Estate, which belonged to Walpole Eyre (1773–1856), a local landowner after whomEyre's Tunnel on theRegent's Canal was named.[17] Lord negotiated with the Eyres a rent of only £54 per annum for a term of eighty years, free of both land taxes and tithes.[18]
The new ground on the Eyre Estate was available from 1809 and so Lord had two cricket fields at his disposal for the 1809 and 1810 seasons. This North Bank ground was sub-let toSt John's Wood Cricket Club which eventually merged with MCC.[19] Lord formally took over management of this second ground on 8 May 1811 there relaying his turf from the Old Ground. He did this so that "the noblemen and gentlemen of the MCC should be able to play on the same footing as before".[19] According to Warner, Lord's relocation proved unpopular among many MCC members with the upshot that the club played no matches there throughout 1811 and 1812.[19] Whilst its situation may have not been ideal, cricket generally was in decline at the time because of theNapoleonic Wars; theAssociation of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (the ACS) asserts that "(from) 1810 to 1814 the game was all but dead", largely because of the War and "the very real threat of civil unrest in England".[20] This second venue is generally known asLord's Middle Ground. In the three years that Lord leased it, only six matches were known to have taken place, with just three (all in 1813) involving the MCC. Although the exact location of Lord's Middle Ground remains uncertain, it is understood to have been at North Bank to the north end ofLisson Grove where theRegent's Canal cut through. Thus situated partially on the canal's route somewhere in the area now bounded by Lisson Grove (the B507) to south-west, Lodge Road to north-west, Park Road (the A41) to north-east and the Regent's Canal to south-east, this cricket field was no further than 300yards (270 m) from the presentLord's Cricket Ground.[19]
Lord was forced to abandon plans for his Middle Ground afterParliament decreed the new canal's route in 1813. Lord, via his protégéLord Frederick Beauclerk, approached the Eyre family who agreed to lease another plot nearby inSt John's Wood, but at an increased rent of £100 per annum. Accepting the Eyres' new terms, Lord again relocated his turf which was re-laid in time for the start of the 1814 season. This third ground remainsLord's present home to MCC for over 200 years.[19]
From 1996 to 2008, the MCC played ninefirst-class and threeList A matches against touring teams at cricket grounds other than Lord's:[21][22]
MCC maintains responsibility for, and remains copyright holder of, theLaws of Cricket. Its Laws Sub-Committee is responsible for debating and drafting changes to the Laws, with the Main Committee then voting on any proposed amendments.[23]
MCC has 18,000 full members and 5,000 associate members. Full Members enjoy voting rights and have access to thePavilion and other stands atLord's Cricket Ground for all matches played there; Associate Members' privileges are more restricted and vary on a case-by-case basis, but in broad terms they can attend most matches except major internationals.[24]
MCC members did not allow female membership until 1998, with previous club ballots on change failing to achieve the requisite two-thirds majority for implementation.[25] The move to change was spearheaded byRachael Heyhoe Flint who applied as "R Flint" to slip under the radar into the male-only application system.[26] WhenColin Ingleby-Mackenzie, a longstanding advocate for women's membership, assumed the MCC Presidency in 1996 he led a two-year campaign to convince the membership to vote in favour of change. In September 1998 a 70% majority of members voted to allow female membership, so ending 212 years of male exclusivity, and 10 honorary life members were immediately admitted, including Baroness Heyhoe Flint. Until this time,the Queen, as club patron, was the only woman (other than domestic staff) permitted to enter the Pavilion during play.[27] In February 1999, five women were elected as playing members.[28]
To join the candidates' waiting list for MCC membership one must be proposed by a full member (who can make one nomination per year) who details the prospective candidate's cricketing ability/experience/knowledgeetc, corroborated with the nominee's own statement accordingly. If MCC deems the nomination form satisfactory, prospective candidates are invited to attend an interview at Lord's with two MCC Committee Members (comprising all MCC Sub-Committees; MCC Committee; MCC Out-Match Representatives; and MCC's Current, Past and Designate-President). As demand for membership always outstrips supply each year, there continues to be a substantial waiting list for Full Ordinary Membership, currently around 27 years.[24] There are, however, ways to hasten the time it takes to become a full member: one may qualify as a Playing Member, or Out-Match Member (although this carries none of the privileges of membership, apart from being able to play for the club).[24]
In addition, membership rules allow a certain number of people each year to be elected ahead of their turn; beneficiaries have includedSir Mick Jagger and in 2018 then-Prime Minister,Theresa,now Lady May. MCC also awards limited honorary membership to people who have distinguished themselves in cricket. The club recognises achievement inwomen's cricket with, for example,Charlotte Edwards an inductee in 2012.[24]
In 2005 the MCC was criticised (including by a few of its own members)[29] for siding with theEngland and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the latter's decision to award television rights forTest cricket toBritish Sky Broadcasting, thus removing Test cricket from terrestrial television. The then-Secretary and Chief Executive of MCC,Roger Knight, represented the club on the board of the ECB and was party to this decision, prior to which Test cricket had been shown free to viewers on British television for over half a century.
MCC has the option of allowing members and other spectators to continue to bring a limited amount of alcoholic drinks into the ground at all matches. TheICC, was attempting to implement a ban on this practice at all international matches around the world. MCC opted to write to the ICC on an annual basis to seek permission for members and spectators to import alcohol intoLord's.[30]
The Secretary & Chief Executive of the Club has a seat on the administrative board of theECB and it is believed thatKeith Bradshaw (Secretary & Chief Executive 2006–11) may have influenced the removal from office ofEngland CoachDuncan Fletcher in April 2007.[31]
In 2012, MCC made headlines over a redevelopment plan,Vision for Lord's, that would have increased capacity but included construction of residential flats on some of the MCC site. Internal strife over the process of making a decision on the proposal led to the resignation of former Prime MinisterSir John Major from MCC's Main Committee.[32]
In 2022, Guy Lavender, Secretary & Chief Executive of MCC, announced that the annual one-dayOxford v Cambridge andEton v Harrow matches, both of which have been played at Lord's since the early 19th century, would no longer be held at the ground, so as to make room in the fixture list for the finals of competitions for all universities and schools in pursuit of greater diversity. Following opposition from a majority of its membership, the club decided that the matches would continue to be held at Lord's until 2023 to allow time for further consultation.[33] In March 2023 it was announced that the fixtures would continue to be played at Lord's until at least 2027, following which there would be a review and a possible vote in 2028 on whether these historic matches should remain at Lord's.[34]
During the Second Test of the2023 Ashes series at Lord's, the MCC apologised toCricket Australia and suspended three members for confrontingAustralian players walking through the Long Room.[35] Video emerged of MCC members shouting abuse at Australian players afterJonny Bairstow wasstumped in controversial circumstances, despite his dismissal being fair and legal.[36]
MCC men's and women's teams play domestic matches throughout the spring and summer against teams from universities, schools, the Armed Forces and invitational teams such as theDuchess of Rutland's XI.[37] The men's team tour internationally four times per year, and the women's team tour every other year.
MCC has long had a deep involvement in coaching cricket. The club's head coach leads an extensive operation involving the running of an indoor-cricket school and a team of coaches in England and around the world. The club has traditionally produced a coaching manual, theMCC Cricket Coaching Book, a bible for cricket skills, and runs training programmes for young cricketers, including many at its Lord's Indoor Centre.[38] MCC continues to tour around England, playing matches against various state and private schools. This tradition has been followed since the 19th century. The club has other sporting interests with both areal tennis and asquash court on site at Lord's, andgolf,chess,bridge andbackgammon societies.
SinceEdwardian times at the beginning of the 20th century, the Marylebone Cricket Club organisedEnglandTest matches, touring overseas officially asMCC up till the1976/77 tour of India.[39]England cricketers last wore MCC's distinctive red and yellow-striped colours during thetour of New Zealand in 1996/97.
The true provenance of theclub colours is (and probably will remain) unsubstantiated, but the MCC originally sportedsky blue until well into the 19th century.[40]
The Marylebone Cricket Club eventually settled on its now well-recognised colours of scarlet and gold,[41][42] otherwise described as "bacon and egg".[43] One purported theory is that they derive from theJ&W Nicholson & Co.gin-distillingfamily, whose Chairman and MCC Committee member,William NicholsonMP (1825–1909) financed the purchase of Lord's freehold in 1866.[44]
More likely is that MCC'sred andgoldcolours have evolved from theheraldiclivery (racing) colours of key noble patrons, such asthe Dukes of Richmond and kinsman,Lord Frederick Beauclerk, President of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1826.[45]
Previously perceived as tootraditional andelitest, MCC has adapted with the times making concerted efforts to modernise.[46] "It would be overstating things to claim that the MCC has come full circle," admitted Andrew Miller at the beginning of October 2008, "but at a time of massive upheaval in the world game, .. [its] colours cease to represent everything that is wrong with cricket, and instead have become a touchstone for those whose greatest fear is the erosion of the game's traditional values".[47]
Prior to 2013, MCC was anunincorporatedprivate members' club, which status had several limitations. Since an unincorporated association cannot be a legal entity, MCC could not own property (such as Lord's Cricket Ground)in its own name. MCC could not sue anybody, nor indeed be sued (any legal action having to be taken against the Secretary & Chief Executive personally). Any successful financial claim made against the Club would have to be met by the Committee with liability extending to all MCC members for any shortfall in funds. The Club therefore convened aSpecial General Meeting in June 2012 to propose petitioning theQueen-in-Council for the incorporation of Marylebone Cricket Club byRoyal Charter.[48] Resulting from this petition, in December 2012 the MCC was granted a Royal Charter, two previous attempts having been unsuccessful.[49]
Removing many of the barriers to simplify its administration, MCC became incorporated enabling it to hold assets in its own right, includingLord's Cricket Ground, instead of viacustodian trusteeship. The Royal Charter also removed financial liability for any shortfall from its individual members, as owners of Marylebone Cricket Club.[50]
From 2005 the MCC funded six university cricket academies known as the MCC Universities (MCCUs), which had previously been funded (from 2000) by theEngland and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). (Prior to 2010 they were known as the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence, or UCCEs.) These were based atCambridge,Cardiff,Durham,Leeds/Bradford,Loughborough andOxford, and incorporated a total of thirteen universities.[51] From 2012 all six MCCUs held first-class status. Each MCCU played a trio of matches against professional county teams at the beginning of each season, with first-class status conferred on the first two of these matches.[52] In 2018, the MCC and ECB announced that the ECB would be resuming responsibility for funding the university centres from 2020 and would run a tender process for new cities to join the scheme. The change was also said to be likely to result in moreT20 cricket in the programme.[53][54] Despite the ECB having resumed funding, the university teams continue to use the MCC University names.[55]
MCC Presidents are appointed to serve an annual term (biennial terms in the 1990s), exceptions being extensions of office duringWorld War I andWorld War II.
Appointed President of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1914,Lord Hawke was asked to remain in post till the end ofthe Great War,[56] whenLord's was used for military (including training and recreational) purposes. Problems frequently arose but, inWisden's view, Hawke provided "the greatest help in giving wise counsel towards their solution",[57] liaising withHenry (then Lord) Forster, whom he nominated as his successor for 1919.[58] Lord Hawke's tenure was exceeded only by that ofStanley Christopherson, appointed in 1939 and remainingin situ for seven years, before being succeeded in 1945 byGeneral Sir Ronald Adam.[59]
In hisBarclay's World of Cricket essay,E. W. Swanton declares that "there is no pretence of democracy about" MCC's Presidents, commenting on how few wereuntitled up till the Second World War and that belonging to the aristocracy was more important than any cricketing prowess.[60] His observation reflected societal change, althoughPrince Philip, former PMSir Alec Douglas-Home,the Duke of Norfolk and his son-in-lawLord Cowdrey, served as Presidents of MCC in the latter half of the 20th century.
21st-century MCC Presidents so far include many former professional cricket players such asTom Graveney,Derek Underwood,Mike Gatting,Matthew Fleming andKumar Sangakkara (nominated by predecessor, Anthony Wreford), becoming the first Asian President of Marylebone Cricket Club in 2019.[61][62][63]
(Records from 1787 to 1820 were destroyed in Lord's fire of 28 July 1825.)
Presidents of MCC are required to nominate a successor at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) during their term of office.[65] The MCC Chairman and Treasurer each serve a three-year term, both being appointed by the MCC Committee (subject to approval of the voting members), and can serve successive terms.
TheSecretary &Chief Executive to Marylebone Cricket Club (a combined role) is the Club's senior employee, appointed solely by the MCC Committee.
The firstSecretary to the Marylebone Cricket Club was engaged in 1822,[66] a title which changed in 2000, underRoger Knight's tenure, to become Secretary and Chief Executive. Holders of this office have been:
William Nicholson continued to loan the club substantial amounts for numerous projects over the next 30 years and was President of MCC in 1879. William Nicholson was the owner of the Nicholson's Gin Company, whose colours were then red and yellow. Although no written proof has yet been found there is a strong family tradition that the adoption of the red and gold was MCC's personal thank you to William Nicholson for his services to the club – sport's first corporate sponsorship deal perhaps?
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