MCC committed to September school fixtures

John Stephenson, head of cricket at MCC, tells ED KRARUP about their schools' fixture list and some notable performances from years gone by

Ordinary summers see a fantastic amount of schools’ cricket.

Pre‑season friendlies, regular term‑time fixtures, festivals, national competitions and overseas tours result in an extensive schedule packed into just a few months. How players find the time for their studies is quite admirable.

However, there is one fixture that schools hold dear, against MCC. For many cricketing schools, this is their flagship fixture. One where the outfield will be manicured so it looks its best while flags are hoisted high above the pavilion with pride.

Those who play against MCC are enormously proud of the fixture, but the opposition also hold their school programme in very high regard.

“We’ve found that there has been a lot of hunger from schools to play matches in September, so we’re in the process of reorganising a lot of our schools matches that were cancelled,” John Stephenson, head of cricket at MCC and former Essex, Hampshire and England allrounder, explains. “At the moment we have 37 matches reorganised, and another 40 or so to chase.”

It would have been simple to just draw a line through the 2020 summer and for MCC to resume their schools schedule in 2021. But with schools eager to play cricket when they return in September there was opportunity for this prestigious fixture list to be somewhat fulfilled.

^{The MCC Schools side that played ESCA in 2015, captained by Ollie Pope and including Zak Crawley. Credit: MCC}

Many fixtures in the MCC school calendar are historical, such as those against public schools like Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse and Rugby. However, this is not an exclusive fixture. MCC travel to the Channel Islands to play against Elizabeth College and Victoria College, based in Guernsey and Jersey respectively, while their state school fixtures list is strong too.

The Skinners’ School in Kent and The Bishop’s Stortford High School are just two state institutions that have already rearranged MCC fixtures for September. An ordinary summer would see MCC play around 60 state schools, out of just under 300 schools matches in total.

As well as providing good competition and valuable experience for the pupils playing, MCC fixtures against schools are a celebration of the game.

“They are amazing days,” Stephenson continued. “The games are played in the right spirit and are generally evenly balanced contests that are played on good pitches in beautiful surroundings. The playing membership love it.

“We feel that sending good quality adult sides to cricketing schools is great for the development of young cricketers. We also try to demonstrate good conduct. Sometimes it may be a bit of a mismatch where you have to help coach a batsman through an innings but also when somebody is getting close to a hundred you really want them to do it. But we do play hard but we play fair.”

MCC are keen to celebrate the achievements of school cricketers. A spirit of cricket cap is presented to a school player after each match, and if a player scores a hundred or takes five wickets against MCC they are invited to a day of the Lord’s Test. They and their parents receive lunch and tea and are presented with a plaque on the outfield during the tea break.

The number of cricketers who have excelled for their school against MCC and have since gone on to the highest levels of the game is no coincidence.

In 2015 Ollie Pope captained the MCC Schools side in their annual Lord’s fixture against England Schools Cricket Association (ESCA). Players get picked to represent MCC Schools based on their performances against the club for their own school. Perhaps it was Pope’s 115 off 60 balls for Cranleigh School against the famous club that caught the selectors’ eye?

Other notable names to play in that particular fixture were Zak Crawley, Olly Westbury, Dan Douthwaite and Ethan Bamber who represented MCC, while Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Liam Banks, Felix Organ and Aaron Beard turned out for ESCA.

^{ESCA, featuring Tom Banton (front, second from right)  v MCC Schools 2015. Credit:MCC}

But one schoolboy performance that particularly stands out for Stephenson was that of Alex Hammond for Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire.

“I’ll never forget it. We did our usual declaration at around 240 for 6, but then Hammond came out in reply and after 3.4 overs he was 51 not out. Then after eight overs they were 100 for no wicket. This lad was stepping across and smashing every ball for six over midwicket or long-on.” Hammond has since represented England Physical Disability as well as playing regularly for Alton in the Southern Premier League.

“We ended up tying the match but Hammond got a hundred in no time. It was a great performance.”

Exposure to quality players and the prestige of playing against the most famous club in the game are just two reasons why MCC fixtures are so important to schools. But these fixtures also provide opportunity to play at Lord’s, or to be spotted by key stakeholders in the game who may be in the opposition.

Many schoolboy players go on to become playing members of MCC and they themselves will return to their school to play. Stephenson is an Old Felstedian.

“When I was at Felsted playing against the MCC you always had one or two well-known cricketers turning up which was incredibly exciting. Going back to play against Felsted is my favourite fixture, that’s where all my great memories are on a beautiful ground with a great pitch.”

The MCC schools fixture list plays an enormous role in our summer, and is hugely important to those who they play against. For the brightest young stars it provides opportunity to play at the Home of Cricket, but for others it’s a superb opportunity to test your skills against quality and experienced opposition.

It is fantastic to hear of how eager schools are to continue playing in September and it is equally warming that MCC are so keen to play as many fixtures as they can.

Not every school cricketer who plays against MCC will go on to represent their country or play cricket for a living – some may even take their pads off for the last time upon leaving school, but the MCC schools programme and their sides who tour the length of the country perform an invaluable role, in sharing a love of the game and promote the values that come with it.

The Cricketer would like to thank Durant Cricket for their ongoing support of our schools cricket coverage. For more on Durant Cricket, including booking a site visit, please click here