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Varsity cricket match to be reinstated at Lord’s

Isaac Ettinghausen reports the revolt which prompted the U-turn.

The Oxford-Cambridge Varsity cricket match will be played at Lord’s again after members of the Marylebone Cricket Club protested against its planned axing.

In February, Cherwell reported on the plans of the MCC, which administers Lord’s, to scrap the Varsity match, as well as the Eton-Harrow fixture, on grounds of “broadening the scope of the fixture list.”

This was met with support by both Oxford and Cambridge’s cricket clubs, with CUCC stating that it “enthusiastically welcomes the MCC decision to make way in following seasons for a wider range of people to realise their ambition of playing at Lord’s.” 

However, the plans were less popular with members of the MCC, with a group of 212 members writing in an open letter that the MCC “trampled over the history and traditions of Lord’s” by attempting to scrap the two matches.

“By failing to consult and engage with members beforehand, it was also arbitrary, undemocratic and hence disrespectful to all members,” their letter wrote.

An emergency meeting had been scheduled last Tuesday, but the level of anger prompted MCC officials to cancel it for fear of a toxic row. MCC chief executive Guy Lavender wrote to members: “I write to advise you that the Special General Meeting scheduled for 18.00 tomorrow will not now take place. The MCC Committee has agreed to a request, received from the requisitionists this morning, to withdraw the Resolution and cancel the SGM, in the best interests of the Club.

“Both the committee and the requisitionists continue to believe in their respective points of view, but we will now work together on next steps, to include a consultation process with Members with a view to considering the future of the two fixtures at the 2023 AGM. Noting the time needed for this consultation, it has been agreed by both parties that the Club will invite the four institutions to play their respective matches (Oxford v Cambridge and Eton v Harrow) at Lord’s in 2023.”

Image credit: Yorkstar via Wikimedia

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