England: MCC serve working class chips (5 October 1998)

5 October 1998

England: MCC serve working class chips

By Michael Parkinson

WRITING in the current issue of The Cricketer, "Bouncer" - surely a columnist in search of a decent name -is indignant about my criticism of MCC. Commenting on a column I wrote before the club reached the correct decision about women members, he says: "His diatribe against the greatest cricket club in the world was at least consistent with his general attitude of envy sustained since the Sixties."

Which fits in with the opinions of two or three colleagues on these pages who believe my antipathy towards MCC is entirely due to a working-class chip on both shoulders. Let us look at the evidence.

The first time I was critical of MCC was in the Sixties. "Bouncer" is right about that. 1968 in fact, and the issue was whether or not we should play cricket against South Africa. MCC were in charge at the time and their handling of the D'Oliveira affair was both insensitive and inept. That is history's judgement, not mine.

To recap, in 1968 D'Oliveira was England's best all-rounder. He was a Cape Coloured and MCC had already been made aware by the South African government that they would not accommodate an England team if he was included. Nonetheless, MCC continued to plan the tour in the hope that the problem might go away. It didn't.

On the eve of selection for the tour to South Africa, D'Oliveira scored a match-winning 158 against Australia at the Oval. We retained the Ashes and D'Oliveira was a hero. He was not picked in the touring team. Tom Cartwright was preferred on the grounds he was a better bowler. In fact, D'Oliveira had taken 61 wickets that season and finished ninth in the bowling averages with a record almost identical to Cartwright's.

Those of us who suspected the team had been picked by Dr Vorster and not the selectors were labelled "Lefties, loonies and weirdos." I was accused by one prominent member of MCC of being "a communist infiltrator." Then Cartwright was injured and unable to tour. D'Oliveira had to be chosen and the tour was off.

Even then MCC didn't seem to understand the moral question underpinning the entire fiasco which was not simply about D'Oliveira being picked, but why we should even contemplate playing cricket against a regime as appalling as South Africa at that time.

Indeed in 1979 the Test and County Cricket Board, with the blessing of MCC, were still prepared to welcome a South African cricket team to England in spite of growing evidence that playing any game against the apartheid regime was not only morally repugnant but impossible from a practical point of view because of public opinion.

Many of the staunchest supporters of South Africa at that time - those who were loudest in denouncing critics of MCC - are around today. Administrators and commentators. I doubt that they like being reminded of what they wrote and said 30 years ago.

So "Bouncer" and the rest are wrong to assume my attitude towards MCC is based on envy. That's a silly and futile accusation to make. There are better reasons as I hope I have shown. MCC are powerful and influential. They mustn't bridle at close scrutiny from outsiders because too many commentators on Lord's are MCC members and unlikely therefore to have an objective point of view.

They are quick to denounce critics as being motivated by spite without seeming to understand how they are compromised by the tie they wear.

The latest brouhaha about women is yet another example of MCC struggling to come to terms with the world we live in. Fact is when it comes to confronting prejudice either by race or gender the club don't have a good record. They struggle to do the decent thing to the embarrassment and detriment of the game they have come to symbolise. In 30 years little has changed. I still hold the views formed all those years ago. So, I suspect, do a lot of MCC members.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)