MCC reinstate Eton v Harrow and Varsity Lord's fixtures after member pressure

The club hoped to "broaden the scope of the fixture list" but have backed down prior to a Special General Meeting, triggered following a movement to have the games reinstated

The MCC have performed a late U-turn and agreed to host both the Eton v Harrow and the Varsity matches at Lord's in 2023.

The club was due to host a Special General Meeting on Tuesday (September 27) after a group of members rebelled against the decision to stop hosting the fixtures. 

The MCC, who own Lord's and are custodians of the laws of the game, announced in February that the Eton v Harrow and the Oxford v Cambridge matches would no longer be hosted on the ground.

Instead, the club expressed an intention to stage the finals of competitions open to schools and universities. The club expressed the hope this would reflect a more meritocratic and socially diverse outlook.

Eton v Harrow has been played at Lord's since 1805 (Wesley/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

But that infuriated some members. They pointed out that the games were among the most traditional in sport - the Eton v Harrow match dates back to 1805 and the Oxford v. Cambridge one to 1827 – and remain of considerable financial value to the MCC.

The most recent Eton v. Harrow game, played at the end of June, attracted more than 4,000 spectators and saw most of Lord's hospitality boxes in use. Both those facts compare favourably to Middlesex's Championship fixtures, some of which are also staged at Lord's.

Henry Blofeld and David Gower are among the well-known cricketing figures who have urged the MCC executive to reconsider the decision. But the news does come barely 24 hours after Stephen Fry, the incoming MCC president, urged members to support the decision or risk the sport being seen as "a turgid image of snobbery and elitism".

While MCC management insists they remain committed to the decision, which they claim would free up time to host more meritocratic fixtures for schools and universities, they have now agreed to suspend it pending a "consultation process" with the club's members. The concession is likely to prove a major embarrassment to the club's executive.

^{Incoming MCC president Stephen Fry has backed the removal of the annual match (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

"The MCC Committee has agreed to a request, received from the requisitionists this morning, to withdraw the resolution and cancel the SGM, in the best interests of the club," a statement released by the MCC read less than 24 hours ahead of the scheduled meeting read.

"Both the Committee and the requisitionists continue to believe in their respective points of view, but we will now work together on next steps, to include a consultation process with members with a view to considering the future of the two fixtures at the 2023 AGM.

"Noting the time needed for this consultation, it has been agreed by both parties that the club will invite the four institutions to play their respective matches (Oxford v Cambridge and Eton v Harrow) at Lord’s in 2023."

The women's Varsity match was played on the main square at Lord's for the first time in its history in 2022. It is not clear, at this stage, if the MCC have committed to maintaining such gender equality in 2023.

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• Stephen Fry backs removal of Eton v Harrow fixture ahead of MCC member vote

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