MCC to ‘consult’ on scrapping Eton v Harrow, Oxford v Cambridge after backlash

LONDON, AFP: Marylebone Cricket Club said Monday it would launch a “consultation process” next month on the future of the Eton v Harrow and Oxford v Cambridge matches at Lord’s after plans to remove the fixtures from its annual calendar provoked an angry reaction.

In February this year, MCC, the owners of Lord’s in northwest London, announced the fixtures between the elite fee-paying schools and England’s two oldest universities would no longer be guaranteed to be staged at the ‘Home of Cricket’ from 2023 onwards.

Both matches have been played at Lord’s since the 19th century.

That decision was met with a furious reaction from a hard core of the club’s 23,000 members, who secured a Special General Meeting (SGM) in September with the aim of overturning the decision in a ballot.

Only hours before the vote was due to take place, however, MCC announced it had agreed to a cancellation request from those who had called for the SGM in “the best interests of the club”.

MCC announced then it would launch a consultation process ahead of making a decision on the future of the fixtures at its 2023 annual general meeting on 3 May.

As a result of the time needed, both fixtures will take place next season.

In a letter to the membership, MCC said Monday it will now conduct an online survey in January to canvas opinion, with the findings communicated to its members in February.