MCC to diversify main committee and target return of international women's cricket to Lord's

The club, founded in 1787, have unveiled a six-point equity, diversity and inclusion plan in its own response to cricket's campaign to stamp out all formats of discrimination

Marylebone Cricket Club will attempt to put aside their prehistoric image by implementing a six-point equity, diversity and inclusion plan which aims to ensure that Lord's is a welcoming venue for all.

The club, who turned 235 years old this year, have published a 14-page document that outlines their commitment to combating and rooting out all forms of discrimination in cricket.

It follows the release of the England and Wales Cricket Board's game-wide plans in response to accounts of racism by Azeem Rafiq and others, back in November.

Those key objectives include:

• Insight: to listen to and learn from stakeholders and the wider cricketing community to ensure MCC and Lord’s is welcoming to a broad range of audiences
• Education: to share knowledge and help audiences to understand how to play their part in ensuring MCC is a club built on fairness and respect
• Communication: to communicate effectively to all audiences, explaining plans and reporting progress
• Pathway: to enable more players, members and staff from a variety of backgrounds to be part of MCC
• Environment: to make the environment at Lord’s welcoming to all audiences
• Accountability: to have effective measures and processes in place for incident reporting, investigation and action.

Chief executive Guy Lavender added: "Cricket is our national summer sport. It encourages leadership, friendship and teamwork and brings people together from different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds.

^{Clare Connor became the MCC's first female president in October 2021 (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)}

"Our overarching goal is that MCC is an organisation that welcomes all manner of lifestyles and perspectives, that embraces diversity and fosters inclusion.

"A place where the Spirit of Cricket – kindness, fairness and respect – is felt on and off the playing field and embodied in everything that we do."

Among the central aims is to improve the diversity of the main committee, increasing the number of ethnic minorities to 17 per cent and of women to 25. Those figures will be adjusted to 13 per cent and 30 per cent for 2023.

Last October, Clare Connor succeeded Kumar Sangakkara as the MCC's first female president and her decision to replace the North Gate in tribute to Rachael Heyhoe Flint was criticised as "gesture politics" by some members.

After hosting four London Spirit matchdays in the men's and women's Hundred last summer, the MCC have pledged to return women's international cricket to Lord's.

Not since the women's World Cup final in 2017 between England and India has a women's international been played at the self-described home of cricket.

By 2023, the MCC also hope to host its first disability match.

^{England's World Cup win in 2017 was the last time women's international cricket was played at Lord's (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)}

More areas of the ground banning the consumption of alcohol will be introduced for Hundred matches in 2022 as part of the transition to a 'low-alcohol' ground for the 100-ball competition. For all matches, more accessible seating will be introduced.

Away from the middle, Lord's will showcase special exhibitions including a women's cricket symposium and a gallery of photos of England's black cricketers as compiled by Tom Shaw, in 2022.

And the following year they hope to follow that with a Jewish Cricket Exhibition and major display on cricket, race and empire.

The charitable arm of the club, the MCC Foundation, have set a number of targets centrally around appealing to more young girls.

In 2022, they aim to grow to 74 hubs supporting 3,000 11-15-year-olds with at least 33 per cent of those being girls.

That numbers are set to swell to 80 hubs for 2023, helping 3,200 kits aged between 11 and 15, of which girls will make up 35-40 per cent.

In a continuation from 2021, anti-discrimination training will continue and be rolled out to stakeholders, other committee members, players, volunteers, coaches and temporary staff.

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