In 1788, the MCC assumed oversight for the Laws of Cricket, issuing a revised version that year. Changes to these Laws are nowadays determined by the International 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 President ex officio.[3][4]
Retaining first-class status when MCC plays first-class opposition, the club continues to promote the game by fielding ad hoc MCC XIs from a pool of circa 2,000 playing members, varying standards accordingly.
The origin of MCC was as a gentlemen's club that had flourished through most of the 18th century, including, at least in part, an existence as the original London Cricket Club, which played at the HACcricket ground in the mid-1700s. Many of its members left for the Hambledon Club during the 1770s and then, in the early 1780s, returned to the London area where the White Conduit Club began playing cricket in Islington. 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 to Sir Pelham Warner, it was formed in 1782 as an offshoot from a West Endconvivial club called the Je-ne-sais-Quoi, some of whose members frequented the White Conduit House in Islington and played matches on the neighbouring White Conduit Fields, which was a prominent venue for cricket in the 1720s.[8]
Arthur Haygarth states in Scores 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 the Star & Garter Inn on Pall Mall. Having undertaken to draft the Laws 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 were George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham (1752–1826) and Colonel the Hon. Charles Lennox (1764–1819), who later became the 4th Duke of Richmond. White Conduit was nominally an exclusive club that only "gentlemen" could play for, but the club did engage professionals and one of these was Thomas Lord, recognised for his business acumen (being a successful winemerchant) "as well as his bowling ability".[10][11]
The new club might have continued except that White Conduit Fields was an open area for members of the public, including its rowdier elements, to watch cricket matches and voice their opinions on the play and players. The White Conduit's gentlemen 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 the Portman Estate on Dorset Fields where Dorset Square is now sited; and the ground was prepared and opened in 1787. Initially called the "New Cricket Ground", being nearby "the New Road" in Marylebone when the first-known match was played there on 21 May, by the end of July 1787, it was known as Lord'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, a South 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's Morning Herald newspaper carried a notice: "The Members of the Cricket Club are desired to meet at the Star & 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, the Morning 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, as G. 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 a single-wicket event. The only one featuring the Mary-le-bone Club took place on Monday, 30 July. It was advertised in The 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.
Grounds
A plaque in Dorset Square, marking the site of the original Lord's Ground, commemorates MCC's foundation in 1787
There have been three Lord's cricket grounds: the original on the Portman Estate and two on the Eyre Estate. All three sites lie to the west of Regent's Park in London. Thomas Lord leased the original ground, now referred to as Lord'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/or Middlesex XIs. Lord's Old Ground was on the site now occupied by Dorset Square, just east of Marylebone Station and west of Baker Street. To commemorate MCC's association, a plaque was unveiled at Dorset Square on 9 May 2006 by Sir 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 whom Eyre's Tunnel on the Regent'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 to St 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 the Napoleonic Wars; the Association 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 as Lord'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 of Lisson Grove where the Regent'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 300 yards (270m) from the present Lord's Cricket Ground.[19]
Lord was forced to abandon plans for his Middle Ground after Parliament decreed the new canal's route in 1813. Lord, via his protégé Lord Frederick Beauclerk, approached the Eyre family who agreed to lease another plot nearby in St 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 remains Lord's present home to MCC for over 200 years.[19]
Alternative grounds
From 1996 to 2008, the MCC played nine first-class and three List A matches against touring sides at cricket grounds other than Lord's:[21][22]
MCC maintains responsibility for, and remains copyright holder of, the Laws 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]
Membership
MCC member sporting the club's distinctive blazer
MCC has 18,000 full members and 5,000 associate members. Full Members enjoy voting rights and have access to the Pavilion and other stands at Lord'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 by Rachael Heyhoe Flint who applied as "R Flint" to slip under the radar into the male-only application system.[26] When Colin 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/knowledge etc, 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 included Sir 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 in women's cricket with, for example, Charlotte Edwards an inductee in 2012.[24]
Controversies
In 2005 the MCC was criticised (including by a few of its own members)[29] for siding with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the latter's decision to award television rights for Test cricket to British 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. The ICC, 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 into Lord's.[30]
The Secretary & Chief Executive of the Club has a seat on the administrative board of the ECB and it is believed that Keith Bradshaw (Secretary & Chief Executive 2006–11) may have influenced the removal from office of England 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 Minister Sir John Major from MCC's Main Committee.[32]
In 2022, Guy Lavender, Secretary & Chief Executive of MCC, announced that the annual one-day Oxford v Cambridge and Eton 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 the 2023 Ashes series at Lord's, the MCC apologised to Cricket Australia and suspended three members for confronting Australian players walking through the Long Room.[35] Video emerged of MCC members shouting abuse at Australian players after Jonny Bairstow was stumped in controversial circumstances, despite his dismissal being fair and legal.[36]
Matches
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 the Duchess 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, the MCC 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 a real tennis and a squash court on site at Lord's, and golf, chess, bridge and backgammon societies.
The true provenance of the club colours is (and probably will remain) unsubstantiated, but the MCC originally used sky 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 the J&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]
Often viewed as too traditional, the club continues its modernising mission before the public and media, partly because it remains a citadel for tradition in a fast-changing landscape and partly because it has made a concerted move towards image-improvement.[46][promotion?] "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, the... NW8's 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]
Legal status
Before 2013 the MCC was a private members' club (meaning that it had the status of an unincorporated association); this status had several limitations. Since an unincorporated association is not a legal entity, it could not own property (such as Lord's Cricket Ground itself) in its own name. It could not sue anybody, or indeed be sued (any legal action had to be taken against the Secretary & Chief Executive personally). In the event that a claim was successful, the committee and even the members themselves would have had to fund any financial shortfall. The club therefore called a Special General Meeting in June 2012 to consider petitioning The Queen in Council to incorporate the club by Royal Charter.[48] The Royal Charter removed many of the barriers and simplified the administration of the club.
Resulting from the petition, in December 2012 the club was granted a Royal Charter, two previous attempts having been unsuccessful.[49] As a result, the club became an incorporated association and is now able to hold assets, including the Lord's Cricket Ground, in its own name instead of via a custodian trustee. It also meant that the individual members, as the club's owners, no longer have a potential liability should the club ever get into serious financial trouble.[50]
MCC Universities
From 2005 the MCC funded six university cricket academies known as the MCC Universities (MCCUs), which had previously been funded (from 2000) by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). (Prior to 2010 they were known as the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence, or UCCEs.) These were based at Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford, 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 sides 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 more T20 cricket in the programme.[53][54] Despite the ECB having resumed funding, the university teams continue to use the MCC University names.[55]
Officers of the club
Presidents serve a twelve-month term and cannot normally serve two terms in succession. Notable exceptions occurred during World War I and World War II. In 1914, Lord Hawke was appointed president and was asked to remain in the post till the end of the Great War.[56] As a result, Hawke was MCC President for five years from 1914 to 1918 inclusive and was succeeded in 1919 by the former Hampshire slow left-arm bowler Henry Forster, who shortly afterwards was raised to the peerage as Lord Forster.[57] Throughout the war, Lord's was used for military purposes, including training and recreation. Problems frequently arose but, in Wisden's view, Hawke was "the greatest help in giving wise counsel towards their solution".[58]
In his Barclays World of Cricket essay about the MCC Presidency, E. W. Swanton stated that "there is no pretence of democracy about it" commenting on how few were untitled up to the Second World War. As he observed, membership of the aristocracy was a more important factor than any cricketing prowess.[60] This observation did indeed reflect societal change, although Prince Philip, Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Cowdrey and Tim Rice all became President of MCC in the latter half of the 20th century. In the 21st century there have been MCC Presidents who as players were wholly professional: Tom Graveney, Derek Underwood, Mike Gatting and Matthew Fleming. The 2018–19 President, Anthony Wreford, nominated Kumar Sangakkara as his successor in May 2019; Sangakkara became MCC's first non-British President.[61][62][63]
Each president is required to nominate their successor at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which takes place during his/her term of office.[65] The club chairman and the treasurer serve a three-year term. Both are appointed by the committee (but subject to approval of the voting members). Both can serve terms in succession. The secretary and chief executive (a joint role) is the senior employee of the club and is appointed solely by the MCC committee.
The committee consists of the above officers plus the chairmen of any other committees that may exist at the time of any meeting plus twelve elected members. Elected committee members are appointed for a three-year term. An elected committee member cannot be re-elected upon retirement unless there is a gap of at least one year between terms of office.
Secretaries
MCC first engaged a Club Secretary in 1822.[66] The title was changed in 2000, during Roger Knight's tenure, to Secretary and Chief Executive. Holders of office have been:
↑ Kelso, Paul (23 December 2005). "ECB in Knott over TV deal". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
↑ "Our history". Lord's. The colours of MCC. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
↑ Rule 1 of the MCC rules (dated 1 July 2013) states, "The Club shall be called the Marylebone Cricket Club and its colours shall be Scarlet and Gold".
↑ Para 7 of the Royal Charter states, "The colours of the Club shall be Scarlet and Gold"
↑ Williams, Glenys. "The colours of MCC". About MCC. Marylebone Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009. 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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