MCC Cricket Committee Report (see associated article for Cricketer Magazine

CRICKET COMMITTEE

[Agreed by Tony Dodemaide: 17.1.2002]
[Amendments from Roger Knight incorporated: 31.1 2002]

“The Cricket committee is responsible for the main ground at Lord’s and all matters relating to the Laws of the game. It drives the policy of the Club, in all of its cricket activities - playing, coaching and supporting the game”.

The Cricket committee believes that 2001 will prove to have been a pivotal year for Lord’s, and the Club. At the Special General Meeting, Members approved subscription increases that will enable MCC to press ahead with three major ground improvement projects. As indicated in the President’s Statement, each of these initiatives is important and, taken together, they are also extremely ambitious. They present us with an unique opportunity to ensure that, in future, Lord’s can combine its undoubted historic appeal with genuinely state-of-the-art sporting facilities.

The Cricket committee undertook much important preparatory work in advance of September’s SGM. In particular, it considered evidence, from a wide variety of sources, on the re-laying of sporting surfaces, the use of portable cricket pitches, and the relative merits of different types of floodlighting. In addition, it contributed to the preparation of the documentation (including the special memorandum) that was sent to Members, to ensure that everyone was fully informed about the MCC Committee’s proposals and their merits from a cricket-playing perspective.

Since September, the committee has continued to take a close interest in all three projects. It has been pleased by the amount of progress that has been made. For example, the first metal trays, in which drop-in pitches will be developed, initially on a trial basis, arrived in England (from Australia) in December. Similarly, plans for the re-laying of the outfield have proceeded well. As a result, the Cricket committee believes that the existing outfield should be removed as soon as possible, starting in September 2002, and is confident that its replacement will provide a high-quality playing surface from the outset of the 2003 season. (The famous Lord’s ‘slope’ will, of course, be unaffected). As far as floodlighting is concerned, the committee continues to examine all the available evidence about the likely costs, benefits and practicality of installing floodlights at Lord’s.

In due course, these ground improvement projects should help to increase the quality and quantity of cricket that Lord’s can offer. For instance, the new outfield will reduce the amount of play lost after rain, while portable pitches should cut the number of days which have to be reserved for pitch preparation before major matches. This will not only increase the amount of cricket that MCC Members can watch, but it should enhance the prospect of Playing Members being able to demonstrate their skills at ‘headquarters’.

Indeed, the Club’s key achievements in 2001 included the organisation of a match between MCC North East and MCC London North. The chance to play at Lord’s was greatly appreciated by the twenty-two participants, whose selection reflected the strength of their commitment to Club’s Out Match programme. Moreover, the game, which was a great success, marked the start of a cycle which will enable a team representing each of the twelve MCC regions to play at Lord’s on a regular basis.

Other notable matches included MCC’s encounter with the Australians, at Arundel Park. However, high-profile fixtures remain less important than the Club’s overall playing programme which, in 2001, continued to prove its worth. Its value was vividly demonstrated by the results of a questionnaire sent to schools which play MCC sides. The vast majority of respondents were extremely positive about these matches and their effectiveness in cricket development terms. Looking further afield, the tours undertaken by MCC teams were equally productive and further enhanced MCC’s worldwide reputation.

In total, our teams played almost 500 matches in 2001 - consolidating MCC’s position as the most active cricket-playing club in the world. The Cricket committee was pleased to note that three groups enjoyed particularly successful seasons. First, MCC’s Young Cricketers broke record after record, with the best summer (particularly from a batting perspective) in their history. Second, the end-of-season games played by the Cross Arrows Cricket Club featured some outstanding individual performances, including Kevin Sedgbeer’s undefeated 226 against Adastrians C.C. - the highest score in the Cross Arrows’ 121 year history. Finally, MCC’s women’s teams had their most active season so far. It included their first tour, to the Netherlands, in July. The committee congratulates them on their achievements, and looks forward to our women’s teams assuming an increasingly important role in the Club’s playing programme in 2002 and beyond.

Our congratulations must also go to Mick Hunt, the Head Groundsman, and his colleagues, whose pitches continued to earn good marks from umpires. In 2001, pitch markings remained at their previously high levels in respect of the four-day games played at Lord’s, while umpires rated its one-day pitches more highly than in 2000 - helped by the successful re-introduction of the most recently re-laid surfaces.

Other improvements included the creation of a gymnasium in the MCC Indoor School, which further enhanced the facilities available for cricketers’ use at Lord’s - as noted by, for example, the touring Australians. However, 2001 included some disappointments, too. Security concerns resulted in the scheduled tour of Israel being postponed (but replaced by a trip to Portugal), while our hopes of developing a multi-faceted regional centre, in partnership with a club in Castleford, proved to be too ambitious and will not be pursued.

While such developments were unfortunate, the Cricket committee believes that they should not detract from one of the most active and successful years in MCC’s history - and one which will prove pivotal to its future.