MCC/Lord’s
ABOUT MCC & LORD’S
Lord’s has long been seen as the home of cricket and the game’s spiritual headquarters. But its importance is not merely historical.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787 – a fact gathered from a poster for a cricket match in 1837 announcing MCC’s Golden Jubilee.
As London’s population grew, so did the nobility’s impatience with the crowds who gathered to watch them play. In pursuit of exclusivity, they decided to approach Thomas Lord, a bowler with White Conduit CC, and asked him to set up a new private Ground. He staged his first match on 31st May 1787. Thus Marylebone Cricket Club was formed. A year later, it laid down a Code of Laws, requiring the wickets to be pitched 22 yards apart and detailing how players could be given out.
Its laws were adopted throughout the game and MCC today remains the custodian and arbiter of laws relating to cricket around the world.
After a short stay at Marylebone Bank, Regent’s Park, between 1811 and 1813, Lord’s moved to a new rural Ground in St John’s Wood in 1814. It remains MCC’s home to this day.
The Ground was soon a major success and attracted hordes of players and spectators, forcing Lord to build a pavilion and refreshment stalls.
MCC’s role has continued to evolve. Today, its key responsibilities include:
- ensuring that Lord’s remains a Ground which is world-class, as well as world-famous;
- promoting cricket’s Laws and safeguarding its ‘spirit’;
- promoting cricket to young people, for the long-term good of the game;
- helping to increase cricket’s international appeal – not least through its teams’ touring programmes; and
- maintaining its position as the world’s most active cricket-playing club.