| 
Posts and words
Loading ...
MCC
MCC
By Richard Seeckts 1 month ago, No Comments; be the first!
MCC’s latest missive to members begins, “As members will be aware, this year’s match between MCC and the Champion County, Durham, will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.”
Without a hint of irony, it continues, “There will be no ground admission charge for the match…..”
No mention of the extra 3,397 miles members will have to travel beyond Lord’s, although they thoughtfully offer a MCC Supporters’ Tour for a piffling £1,885 per person (£600 single supplement).
Er…thanks a lot.
No Comments »Cycling from Lord’s to The Gabba
By Will last year, at the start of August, 1 Comment »
Cricket does something odd to people. The Ashes does something even odder. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to inspire crazy, unlikely ideas to spring out of nowhere; cricket acts as a platform on which the maddest of plans are hatched, and most of them come off. The latest comes from Oli Broom who writes in with the cheery news that he’s going to cycle, on his own, from Lord’s to The Gabba in Brisbane and he hopes to raise £4 for every kilometer. His legs will have taken him 25,000km.
There’ll be a fuller piece on this at Cricinfo in the next day or two but, in the meantime, here’s what Oli is planning:
In October this year I am starting a 25,000 km solo cycling expedition from Lord’s to The Gabba in time to take my seat for the first Ashes test in Brisbane (the Ashes tour itinerary hasn’t been set but the first test is likely to be around 25th November 2010).
In short, the expedition has 3 aims:
1. To cycle from Lord’s to The Gabba in time to see England play Australia in the first Ashes Test Match of the 2010/11 series. I’m hoping to have friends / colleagues join me for certain legs of the journey – quite a few have expressed an interest.
2. To raise £10 for every kilometre that I cycle (so about £250,000). Funds raised are to be divided between two charities – The Lord’s Taverners, whose mission sits very well next to the aims of the expedition – and the British Neurological Research Trust at UCL (a close friend I used to play cricket with broke his neck and is now paralysed and needs 24 hour care – the BNRT undertake ground breaking research into such injuries).
3. To play cricket in as many countries as I can on my way across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Sub-Continent, South-East Asia and Australia. These games wont all be scheduled matches, although I’m hoping to get a few proper ones through contacts at the ICC, MCC and Lords Taverners.
Click here to download the PDF with all his aims and ambitions and media contacts.
1 Comment »Benaud the bowler
By Will last year, at the start of August, 1 Comment »
When I was an aspiring leggie, with lofty ambition to one day play for Middlesex, I was given an MCC coaching book with an accompanying video. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time, and it occupied my entire life. I read it before I went to sleep, and watched the video before our Wednesday and Saturday matches. I was so dedicated to it that I made a copy of the video, kept it in a locked box of course, and took off the sleeve of the hardback book so that it wouldn’t get damaged. I still have the book somewhere, inevitably in a disgraceful condition, but it was used and thumbed constantly.
It used to fall open on Richie Benaud’s chapter on legspin and if a young legspinner read it today, it would still contain everything you need to learn the art. What I liked most about Benaud’s philosophy to bowling legspin was its simplicity and the need for hard work. Ball after ball after ball – just land it. Stick down a handkerchief or a leaf or some chalk, or even some chewing gum, and aim for it. I spent hours and hours and hours doing that, and never got bored. My coach and maths teacher, Pat Rogers, who was a very decent club cricketer (still was into his 50s), knew I had no interest in anything other than cricket in the summer, so I’d take a bucket of balls into a net and bowl constantly. When I have a garden big enough, there’s no doubt I’ll be pitching a net and bowling machine.
I also liked the style of his bowling, which was much less risky and unorthodox than, for example, Shane Warne who was just coming on the scene. Warne spun it like nobody before him, and had big, strong fingers, so he could use his “pinky” to rip it some more. My technique tended to use the one next to your smallest finger and after 10 overs would become raw, blistered and bleed, which I was pleased to note from Benaud was not only normal, but a good sign. Two plasters on top of eachother helped me rip it even more, but that’s school cricket for you.
So, to rip a leggie, Benaud said, the top of your right hand faced the sky, then finished by facing your face. A top-spinner would start facing the sky, then the batsman, so the seam rotated (vertically, if you like) towards the stumps you were aiming at. Most of my wickets came from this ball, oddly, because it bounced so much, though it was probably the top-spinner which ended my aspirations as a cricketer as I soon got the major yips. Years later, I still can’t land it! When I was in South Africa earlier this year, just before getting into my car after the match I had half-an-hour in the nets with a bucket of balls. I landed two out of 25 on a good length. Five or more would have comfortably sailed over the batsman’s head, had there been one. Incredible really that, aged 11, I could sometimes land 10, 11, 12 balls in succession all on middle-and-off, and even vary what I bowled. Now? Not a hope! Even worse, aged 27, it makes me incredibly angry that I’ve lost it. We all love to watch cricket, but playing is a whole heap more fun.
Anyway, this all got me thinking just now after reading Gideon Haigh’s piece on Benaud the bowler and cricketer. He’s more renowned for his commentary, but he was quite revolutionary in his day and must have inspired loads of leggies along the way.
1 Comment »Adam Gilchrist’s 2009 Cowdrey Lecture
By Will last year, at the end of June, 2 Comments »
An eloquent, thoughtful and insightful speech made by Adam Gilchrist today. He supported the rise of Twenty20 but defended Test cricket, urging administrators to leave it alone as much as possible. He also pushed for cricket to be included in the Olympics, which isn’t something I know or care much about, but I can see the good it would do for the publicity of cricket.
The post-speech question-and-answer session was excellent, featuring Gilchrist, Graeme Swann and Dave Richardson, the former South Africa wicketkeeper now working for the ICC, and a good man he is too. Shared a couple of beers with him in South Africa and he’s a very serious student of the game, with its core values at the heart of everything he does. When asked this evening his predictions for the Ashes, he quipped: “It’ll be 2-1 going into The Oval, with England in front, and the chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, will prepare a featherbed for the final Test” which was a bit of a surprise, and not one Clarke will too overly pleased with I bet.
I put up the transcript of the speech at Cricinfo, so do give it a close read, and MCC will have an MP3 of the recording later.
2 Comments »Cricket camp in Afghanistan
By Will last year, at the start of May, 2 Comments »
As you may or may not have read, I recently interviewed Matthew Fleming on the eve of his MCC-affiliated trip to Afghanistan to unveil new pitches, as well as provide equipment to rural villages. Leslie Knott, who is the producer of a film called Out of the Ashes covering Afghanistan’s rise, has been in regular touch with some fabulous photos from the camp, and I thought you’d like to see them below.
All photos are copyright Leslie Knott 2009. If you want to link to them or purchase others, please contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Leslie. Kindly don’t lift them straight from the blog
MCC at heart of Afghanistan’s future
By Will last year, at the end of April, 1 Comment »
In another life, Matthew Fleming might have embarked on a trip to Afghanistan waylaid with bivvy bags and ponches rather than pads, stumps and a weighty remit from cricket’s oldest establishment.
MCC at heart of Afghanistan’s future – Read the rest of the piece at Cricinfo.
1 Comment »Lord’s lights up
By Will last year, at the end of January, No Comments; be the first!
Lord’s announced today that Westminster council have granted them permission to erect retractable floodlights. It’s a huge step forward for one of the world’s most iconic grounds, particularly given its location, and they’ve had difficulty (understandably) with the Westminster locals.
Lord's proposed new floodlighting
Thanks to the interweb and the openness of such things, you can read all about the planning process at Westminster Council’s site. Everything – all the documents, proposals, images – is available, and it makes for interesting reading for fans and locals alike.
The “review” (basically a letter of persuasion by MCC to the council) is worth a look (PDF) as is this scetch detailing the height of the structures in relation to the scoreboard. My Dad was an architect; why did I never find all this interesting when he’d bore me senseless with his own drawings? Probably because they were of petrol stations and not havens like Lord’s.
The company entrusted by the MCC is Abacus, who did Stanford’s lighting (which was controversial – remember all those dropped catches in the jamboree last year?) and at the ground in Kanpur. The difficulty Lord’s and other cricket grounds face is reaching a compromise between illuminating the ball at night, and preventing light spilling onto other people’s houses. Westminster seem to be happy; given how clever MCC have been in marrying the old (pavilion) with the new (media centre) in recent times, it’ll be fascinating to see how they work these new lights in.
No Comments »MCC puts stamp on England v India
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of December, No Comments; be the first!
A new stamp from Bletchley Park to celebrate 75 years of England v India in Test cricket:
No Comments »Marylebone Cricket Club will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of England
v India in Test cricket on January 5th 2009 with a very special stamp and
commemorative cover. The M.C.C. as it is more commonly known, is the world’s
oldest cricket club and “Keeper of the Laws”. Its base at Lord’s Cricket
Ground, St John’s Wood, London being revered worldwide as “The home of
cricket”. The cover is being issued in association with the Cricket
Association of Bengal. Its base is Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India’s oldest
cricket club and the venue for the greatest number of Test matches played in
India. The first was in January 1934 against an England XI led by Douglas
Jardine. Jardine and Indian Captain CK Nayadu will be featured on the stamp
to be cancelled with an MCC postmark on 5th January. The day the match
started. The cover design features the scorecard and match day images from
1934. Inside will be a replica of the scorecard for the four-day match. Each
cover will be individually numbered in a presentation pack as a limited
edition of just 1000. Issue price will be £10 plus post and packing.The cover can only be ordered through Chapman and Mitchell Covers at
Bletchley Park Post Office, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EB, Tel:
01908 272690/631797. Or from the MCC section of the website at
www.bletchleycovers.com.
MCC go pink
By Will 2 years ago, mid-April, 6 Comments »
You’ve got to hand it to MCC. For so long they were the stuffy uncle of cricket: custodians of the laws of a noble sport, and with the detached arrogance to match such an honour. Their image has changed irrevocably in the past 15 years – just look at Lord’s for proof. It combines the old with the new like no other ground in the country (if not the world), and continues to break new ground. They’re now looking to utilise the tunnels beneath the nursery which once housed trains on the old tube line.
And today they unveiled a new pink ball as a potential replacement for the grubby white one which becomes so discoloured in ODIs. Yes, pink. It’s not as garish as it sounds and, on such a gloomy day at Lord’s, it was certainly luminous against the lush green turf. I’m not convinced it was any more visible than the old white one, but it appears MCC’s task is to find one more durable, not necessarily more visible.
Anyway. The chap tasked with all this is Dr Anthony Bull, a bioengineer from Imperial College, who was good enough to spare me and a couple of other reporters the time at Lord’s to explain a few things. More interesting than all the pink balls (honk honk, etc) was his opinion of the future potential of bat technology. He is convinced that within the current constraints of ICC regulations, the current bats can be improved so that a ball will travel a further 20% than they do at the moment.
That is quite some revelation and the impact on the game could be extraordinary. Mis-hits could go for six, or flashing nicks for six. Where on earth would this leave the poor bowler? Such a super-bat would give batsmen yet another unfair advantage over their opponents, and increase expectation on television suits to finish games even sooner than they currently do. Boundaries have been steadily creeping in from the fence in the past ten years – an absolute and unrecorded farce if you ask me – for that very reason: to get “result” games in order to lure bigger audiences to TV.
Anyway, we’re some way off ever seeing this super bat. Would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Would you be in favour of such a technological advance, or does it belittle the already hapless bowler to a mere support act?
More on Dr Bull and the pink balls at Cricinfo.
6 Comments »Another season
By Will 2 years ago, mid-April, 3 Comments »
Hands up all those who are really very excited that the new season is here? Come on. I can still see a few lingering losers at the back. OK, so it’s only the curtain-raiser – MCC versus the champions, Sussex – but it’s the beginning of another monstrous season, and it signals the end of what has felt like an interminably arduous winter.
I say “only” the MCC, but tomorrow’s game has so much going for it. Sussex will doubtless be bounding out of the Long Room to defend their title, and MCC are comprised of a mixture of the tried and tested and the young and hopeful. Ed Joyce is captain and one of four with international experience – Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah and James Foster are the other three – but, most intriugingly of all, it’s the inclusion of a couple of young bucks which really tickles our interest.
We know all about Adil Rashid, a precociously talented legspinning allrounder; rather less is known about Steven Finn, the Middlesex fast bowler who towers above nearly everyone in the county game at 6ft 8in. I had a decent chat with him the other day – he’s a thoughtful, serious young cricketer and has a very clear idea of his path to the top. Have a read at Cricinfo tomorrow.
All to play for, then, if not in the immediate sense – this match is first-class but counts for little else – then certainly for the future. Charge your Thermos flasks and head to Lord’s.
3 Comments »A-Z of MCC cricket in 2008
By Will 2 years ago, mid-April, 3 Comments »
A press release landed today from the MCC who have scratched their collective brains and come up with an A-Z of MCC cricket this season. Worth sharing I thought.
—
The 2008 English cricket season begins at Lord’s with the MCC v County Champion match. MCC is pleased to bring you a comprehensive A – Z guide of its cricket activities this season:
A is for Arundel: the venue for MCC’s fixture against the New Zealanders on Sunday 27th April.
B is for Balls: MCC will provide 1,000 new cricket balls to all its opposition this season, be it an international, first-class, amateur Club or School side. This is an investment of £10,000 on balls alone.
C is for Cowdrey Lecture: Inspired by the late Colin Cowdrey, the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture has become an important part in the cricketing calendar, allowing as it does a platform to discuss the issues surrounding the game today.
Previous speakers have included Richie Benaud, Sunil Gavaskar and Christopher Martin-Jenkins.
D is for Dressing Rooms: the only place to see the full honours boards at Lord’s. The Home Dressing Room is Number 1 within the famous Pavilion, while the Visitors will use Dressing Room 5.
- More about the Honours Boards and how you can see them on an Official Tour of Lord’s
Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart wearing their MCC ties
E is for Egg and Bacon: the affectionate name given to MCC Member’s ties.
MCC has 2,500 Playing Members who will turn out for the Club in fixtures in the UK and abroad, making it the biggest cricket-playing Club in the world.
(more…)
Now come on, chaps. Behave
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of April, No Comments; be the first!
I had to raise a smile when the MCC* made a statement today to say that Lalit Modi, the commissioner and chairman of the Indian Premier League, had agreed to abide by the MCC’s Spirit of Cricket. It was endearingly headmasterly; young Lalit, you and your tournament frighten us witless. By all means take over the world, but please do so in an orderly manner.
* (yes, it’s just “MCC”, but I prefer “the MCC”)
No Comments »MCC ‘more human, not so aloof and distant’
By Will 3 years ago, mid-December, 2 Comments »
Mike Atherton meets Mike Brearley, the former England captain who was named as MCC’s new president in May. In a wide-ranging piece, Brearley looks ahead to the future – and Atherton is convinced the MCC could not be in safer hands:
“The appointment of Keith Bradshaw [the Tasmanian chief executive of the MCC] could not have happened 20 years ago. He’s very forward-thinking and keen to keep Lord’s and the MCC relevant. In short, the MCC has become, I think, more obviously human, not so aloof and distant.”
Read the full piece at the Sunday Telegraph.
2 Comments »Notes from the pavilion for October 22nd
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of October, No Comments; be the first!
Links of note from the past 24 hours:
- Gatting’s MCC beat Cyprus…just – Mike’s actually getting <i>rounder</i>
- ‘We will have to play well to come out on top’ – So <i>that’s</i> how you win, John
- Why cricket? – New Zealand cricket | NZHistory – Some interesting notes on the history of New Zealand cricket, while doing a “brief history” of England and NZ for Cricinfo. ‘I tell the boys in summertime to play at cricket and play well, that those who are the best cricketers most likely will be the bes
Lord’s moves out of the Dark Ages
By Jonathan Liew 3 years ago, mid-September, No Comments; be the first!
In the beginning was Lord’s. And all around was a formless void, swathed in darkness. And the MCC said: “Let there be light,†and light appeared. And 5,000 fans saw that the light was good, even though it was only temporary. And the local residents didn’t kick up too much of a fuss. And thus Lord’s took a bold step into the 21st century.
From the distinct lack of glitz on display on Monday night, It’s immediately clear that night cricket at Lord’s will never enjoy the same raucous atmosphere it does at The Oval. But then again, nor should it. The long overdue experiment will hopefully transform the Lord’s experience into something more thrilling and inclusive whilst retaining its respectful eloquence. Day-night games at Lord’s will feel rather like a garden party to which the whole family is invited. There really is no reason why floodlights should automatically be synonymous with furry mascots and Gwen Stefani.
No Comments » « Previous Entries