Over 600 guests will fill the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s on Thursday 21 March to watch the first MCC Cowdrey Lecture in its history to have more than one keynote speaker.

This year’s event will feature stars from BBC’s hugely popular cricket podcast, Tailenders, to bring an entertaining twist to the usual format.

Jimmy Anderson, Greg James and Felix White will host an evening of entertaining cricket chat and discussion, with special guests Stuart Broad and Isa Guha joining them on stage. MCC President Mark Nicholas, who invited the stars of Tailenders to lead the show following an idea put forward by Lord Cowdrey’s grandson, Charlie Cowdrey, will also feature in the show.

MCC Member tickets were distributed via a ballot and are now no longer available. In one of the most oversubscribed ballots in the event’s history, the only way to watch the show is online via MCC’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

The MCC Cowdrey Lecture, often referred to as the ‘Spirit of Cricket Lecture’, has become an annual highlight in the cricketing calendar. It was created in memory of Colin Cowdrey (later Lord Cowdrey), the former England captain who is credited with co-authoring the Spirit of Cricket – an outline for fair play that was later added as the official preamble to the Laws of Cricket.

Guha, the former England bowler who played in and won the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia, is a leading cricket commentator and sports broadcaster. Isa joins previously announced special guest Stuart Broad on stage with the Tailenders.

The event follows the hugely successful recent run of Tailenders Live shows across the country. The hit podcast is one of the most successful cricket podcasts and has had over 2.5million listens on BBC Sounds.

As is now customary, the Cowdrey Lecture will be streamed live on MCC’s YouTube and Facebook channels, to allow as many cricket supporters from across the globe to access each unique oration as possible. The list of past keynote speakers includes Richie Benaud, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan and Kumar Sangakkara. Greg James and Felix White will follow in the footsteps of the only other two non-cricketing speakers to take the stage, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Stephen Fry.

MCC President, Mark Nicholas, said: “1,304 Test match wickets between them and indisputably two of England’s greatest ever cricketers: yes, next Thursday 21 March, we welcome Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad to Lord’s for the Cowdrey evening. With them will be Isa Guha, a fine bowler for England and a wonderful broadcaster of the game we all so love. What a threesome to honour the name of the great Colin Cowdrey and, alongside the wit and wisdom of the rest of the Tailenders team, to entertain a full house in the Nursery Pavilion!”

Isa Guha added: “It is an honour to be invited when you consider the names of speakers and special guests that have been part of the Cowdrey Lecture in the past. Knowing the Tailenders, I’m sure this is going to be a fun, entertaining and thought-provoking evening that I’m delighted to be part of”.

Photo above features Isa with Jenny Gunn and Danni Hazel

With thanks to the MCC

Following the first meeting of 2023 in Dubai, in which it concluded that the game was at a crossroads with intervention required, it now releases specific recommendations for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to help ensure the long-term prosperity of the men’s and women’s international game.

Upon conclusion of the session on Tuesday 27 June, the departing Chair of the WCC, Mike Gatting, highlighted the need for the ICC to take “a democratic and inclusive approach” to maximise the generational opportunity that has been presented to cricket over the next five years, courtesy of the recent record sale of the media rights for ICC Global Events.

The discussions across the two days centred around the complicated and contradictory place international cricket finds itself in. On the surface, the game may seem economically buoyant, enabling more money for full members and growth for associate countries and women’s cricket, more franchise playing opportunities for elite male and female cricketers and a greater diversity of choice for supporters to watch and attend the various match formats.

However, the committee also highlighted that a widening disparity between nations is evolving, with the current model heavily favouring the minority who dominate a system that, without intervention, has the potential to not suitably benefit the international game. The committee voiced particular concern for the survival of Test cricket in nations outside of India, Australia and England, with the associated impact brought about by a narrowing competition pool.

The committee continues to hear of the growing unaffordability to host men’s Test match cricket in many nations and concluded that the game currently lacks quantifiable data on the costs of hosting a Test match across its member nations. To address this lack of insight, it proposed a recommendation for the ICC to undertake a Test match financial audit to provide a clearer picture. This audit of operational costs versus commercial return would help the ICC identify nations in need of support in order to sustain a Test match programme. This need could be subsequently addressed via a separate Test fund, established to protect the sanctity of Test match cricket.

The committee discussed how to protect, grow and strengthen women’s cricket globally. It believes that the optimum solution to support this objective would be to create a substantial and ringfenced ICC Strategic Fund that can be allocated on a required basis to full member and associate nations who, amongst other key initiatives, fully commit to their women’s pathway and national team. The WCC also believes that in order to qualify as a full ICC member, each nation must be required to commit to investing in both men’s and women’s cricket and field a national women’s team.

Ahead of the next iteration of the ICC men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) in 2028, it calls on the ICC to ensure the men’s FTP beyond 2027 has an equitable schedule of matches for all full member countries, rewarding hosts and touring nations alike. The goal must be to secure a balanced, meaningful, and commercially viable FTP for all, which prioritises bilateral cricket, finds suitable space for franchise cricket yet, in particular, supports the full potential of the ICC World Test Championship to be recognised.

The committee questioned the role men’s One Day International (ODI) cricket now plays outside of ICC World Cups, and recommended it be significantly reduced following the completion of the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup. The suggestion is that a scarcity of ODI cricket would increase the quality, achieved by removing bilateral ODIs, other than in the one-year preceding each World Cup. This would, as a consequence, also create much-needed space in the global cricketing calendar.

The ongoing concerns with the pace of play in men’s Test matches were again discussed. Despite a thrilling World Test Championship Final, a substantial number of overs were lost throughout the duration of the Test, and in the first Test of the men’s Ashes series, with both teams fined and penalised World Test Championship points after failing to comply with over rate targets. The WCC has previously raised these concerns with ICC, along with suggestions for intervention but has yet to see any change implemented.

Following the conclusion of the World Cricket committee and the release of the game-wide actions, outgoing Chair, Mike Gatting, said: “In many ways, cricket is growing and, on the surface, seems financially strong. However, we are increasingly seeing a game which focuses on a powerful few, as opposed to a democratic and inclusive approach for the benefit of the whole sport.

“It’s time for the global game to reset. Too often, member nations are finding themselves living hand to mouth with their cricketing operations, versus having a long-term, viable strategy in place that future-proofs the game in their country, both financially and in terms of participation.

“We are currently at the commencement of a new ICC Future Tours Programme and financing cycle, and we would recommend further evidence of the requisite funding being directly apportioned to the strategic needs of cricket.

“The actions that were raised at the recent meeting highlight the importance for the ICC to proactively engage the global game to find solutions that work for everyone. A more equitable approach would, in turn, provide more commercial stability and continue to grow the potential of the ICC World Test Championship.

“The growth of the women’s game must also be consistent with the growth of the game as a whole. We need to ensure that nations are rewarded for their commitment to investing in both the men’s and women’s game alike, and a ring-fenced fund could be an important step here.

“We have seen similar reports previously, which haven’t led to actions or tangible improvements. The WCC firmly believes that if we are to protect the game of cricket as a whole, immediate action must be taken to bring about significant transformation in the sport.”

With thanks to the MCC

Ahead of today’s MCC World Cricket committee (WCC) meeting at Lord’s, the Club has announced the addition of three new members as the committee prepares to meet at the Home of Cricket.

Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan have all joined the WCC, which is an independent body comprised of current and former international cricketers, umpires, and officials from across the world.

Goswami is a former Indian cricketer who retired from the international game last year, and fittingly her final game came at Lord’s in the One-Day International against England, where she was given a guard of honour when walking out to bat.

The seamer enjoyed a career which spanned two decades for India, taking over 300 wickets in white-ball cricket across 272 appearances, as well 44 wickets in 12 Test matches, and was often regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s game. She was made an Honorary Life Member of MCC in April of this year.

Knight has captained England since 2016 and lifted the ICC Women’s World Cup at Lord’s only a year after taking on the role. The all-rounder has been one of the trailblazers for the women’s game in England, scoring over 5,000 international runs in white-ball cricket, and 705 runs in her 10 Test matches.

She has also captained Lord’s-based Hundred team London Spirit since the beginning of the competition and is set to do so this year for the third season running.

Morgan is England’s all-time leading run scorer in ODI cricket with just shy of 7,000 runs. He captained England in both ODI and T20 cricket with distinction and became one of the most respected and successful international skippers in the modern era.

He possesses a special link with Lord’s, having not only represented Middlesex for 17 years, but he also lifted the ICC Men’s World Cup trophy at the end of an unforgettable final against New Zealand in 2019. He was made an Honorary Life Member of MCC earlier this year and has also captained London Spirit in The Hundred.

Three further new members were added to the WCC in February of this year, when Clare Connor, Justin Langer and Graeme Smith joined ahead of the meeting in Dubai. Sir Alastair Cook has now stood down from the committee to concentrate on the final years of his glittering playing career, and the Club thanks him for his contribution to the WCC.

Chair of the MCC World Cricket committee Mike Gatting, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Jhulan, Heather and Eoin to the World Cricket committee.

“These are three players who have excelled at the very top of the international game and their knowledge of how the elite level of cricket works will be an advantage to the committee.

“It is also important that we are growing the female representation on the committee with the growth that women’s cricket has enjoyed in recent years. Jhulan and Heather join Clare Connor and Suzie Bates who can all offer first-hand insight into the women’s game.”

The WCC will meet today and tomorrow at Lord’s ahead of the second Men’s Test between England and Australia, with various outputs from the meeting to be communicated after the conclusion of the match.

The full list of committee members is as follows:

Mike Gatting – Chair
Jamie Cox – MCC Director (Cricket & Operations)
Suzie Bates
Clare Connor
Kumar Dharmasena
Sourav Ganguly
Jhulan Goswami
Heather Knight
Justin Langer
Eoin Morgan
Ramiz Raja
Kumar Sangakkara
Graeme Smith
Ricky Skerritt

Background to the WCC’s position is that, in many ways, the global game has never been in a healthier position. There has never been more money circulating through the global cricket economy, the quality of all formats of international cricket continues to thrill, and the number of playing opportunities for both men and women continue to grow.

However, the committee felt strongly that the opportunity to better balance the global economics of the game must be seized now so that this current position of strength can help secure the sustainability of the international game for all ICC Member nations and future generations.

The majority of the committee’s meeting centred on the future of the game, specifically what global cricket might look like in ten years’ time should it be left to evolve organically. The purpose of such foresight was to examine how international cricket can be protected, amidst a global cricketing schedule that is increasingly filled with short-form franchise tournaments.

The men’s cricket schedule in 2023 is saturated with franchise competitions, which overlay and compete with the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) of bilateral international cricket, recently released until 2027. The only gap in the combined schedules this year is in October and November, when the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup takes place in India. This trend is repeated annually, with constant overlap between international and franchise cricket, and the only clear air created for ICC Global tournaments. Of the domestic tournaments, only the Indian Premier League commands anything like a window to avoid international clashes.

Also notable in the new men’s FTP is an alarming and growing disparity in the amount of international cricket played by a minority of member nations compared to others; a situation which is clearly neither equitable nor sustainable.

Unlike the men’s version, the recently released first version of the ICC Women’s FTP until 2025 appears very clean and presents no overlapping of international and domestic leagues. However, the WCC urges Boards to work together to find the optimal balance between the two, taking learnings from the men’s congested schedule, to ensure that the overall workload for the game’s best international female cricketers is sustainable. With women already seeing a heightened disparity of income in some countries between the franchise leagues and international cricket (versus men), and the consequential choices some are beginning to make to step away from international cricket, there are worrying signs of potential trends to come.

The committee heard presentations from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) on the changing landscape of employment across professional men and women’s cricket. The increase in the number of professional female players around the world since the last report was unanimously celebrated. The WCC recognises that women’s cricket provides the biggest growth opportunity for the sport with the rise of several franchise tournaments, including the new Women’s Premier League in India. Strikingly, from the FICA men’s report, it was evident that an increasing number of the game’s finest players are now generating substantially greater revenue hopping between franchise clubs than they are from playing for their country.

The WCC welcomes increased playing opportunities in both the men’s and women’s game but believes that these cannot be to the detriment of international cricket – the pinnacle and financial lifeblood of the game. Continued overlap and congestion will see an increasing number of players forced to choose between club and country, which will threaten the ‘best v best’ status that is so critical to the success and appeal of international cricket.

Sourav Ganguly, WCC member said: “I still believe that Test cricket is the biggest platform for cricket. That is where you find the great players, and that is why it is called a Test. It is a test of skill. That should always continue to be the pinnacle and I am sure that countries will give importance to it and find the right balance between franchise cricket and Test cricket.”

Justin Langer, who joined the WCC this year, said: “The difference between international cricket and domestic T20 cricket is that the whole nation cares when their country is involved. The best players’ statistics are measured at international level: everyone knows that Tendulkar scored 100 international centuries and that Muralitharan took 800 Test wickets. We need to protect the integrity of Test cricket, and international cricket in general. It is how great careers are judged and it is where true passion and lasting memories are generated.”

The men’s FTP is now fixed until 2027 but the WCC is calling on ICC to look at the next cycle of tournaments and international cricket and challenge its full member nations to ensure a more equitable spread of international cricket. The ICC is increasing its revenues through the next broadcast cycle, as a result of the introduction of a men’s and women’s white ball global event every year. Consequently, the WCC would like to see some of that additional revenue being ring-fenced to members to support the strategic ambitions of the game. Primary focus should be on becoming the global game of choice for women and girls and assisting with the costs of staging international cricket, which runs at a loss for several countries.

WCC member Suzie Bates said: “It’s such an exciting time to be involved in the women’s game but we need to ensure we have the structure in place to ensure it develops in the best way. The growth of domestic short-form women’s cricket, and its associated financial gains, are hugely welcomed but it should not be at the expense of representing your country.

“As with the men’s game, in order to protect both the standard and integrity of international cricket, we need the best playing the best and therefore the financial model and the women’s Future Tours Programme need to recognise and encourage this.”

Mike Gatting, Chair of WCC, said: “It is a topic we have spoken about for some time, but the increased prevalence of franchise cricket has now made this a crucial subject for looking ahead.

“Bilateral cricket, and indeed Test cricket, is more popular in some parts of the world than others. With this in mind, we need to ensure that funding is more evenly distributed across the member nations. It is inconceivable that the game’s heart and soul can be affluent in some countries and almost unaffordable in others”.
Notes to editors:

The full list of committee members is as follows:

Mike Gatting – Chair
Jamie Cox – MCC Director (Cricket & Operations)
Suzie Bates
Clare Connor
Sir Alastair Cook
Kumar Dharmasena
Sourav Ganguly
Justin Langer
Ramiz Raja
Kumar Sangakkara
Graeme Smith
Ricky Skerritt

The elegant silver trophy, bearing the familiar engraving by Eric Ravilious, follows on from the original Wisden Trophy, which was awarded to the winners of the England–West Indies Test series from 1963 to 2020 and is now replaced by the Richards–Botham Trophy. Wisden Trophies old and new will be kept in the MCC Museum at Lord’s.

Lawrence Booth, the editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, said: “When the old trophy was taken out of action by the ECB and Cricket West Indies, we decided to commission a new one – with a different purpose.

“Test cricket remains close to the heart not just of the Almanack, but of millions of fans, and the new Wisden Trophy gives us the chance to celebrate the oldest and most fascinating of the international formats. We hope this annual award becomes a prize every Test cricketer wants to win, and we’re grateful to MCC for their support.”

The series starting tonight in Mount Maunganui will give England and New Zealand’s male players the chance to stake an early claim for next year’s award.

Leading contenders to win the new Wisden Trophy, based on performances in 2022, include England’s Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook and Nat Sciver-Brunt, India’s Ravindra Jadeja, Sri Lanka’s Prabath Jayasuriya, and Australia’s Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne.

The first winner will be announced on Tuesday 18 April, along with retrospective winners from 1877, the birth of Test cricket, to 1939. Post-war winners will be named next year.

MCC’s Director of Cricket & Operations, Jamie Cox said: “MCC is always pleased to promote excellence in Test match cricket and we are delighted to partner with a name as synonymous with Test cricket as Wisden in presenting this award.”

The 2023 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the 160th edition of the world’s most famous sports book, is published on Thursday 20 April.

With thanks to the ICC