M Parkinson: MCC barricade their Neanderthal cave (2 Mar 1998)

2 Mar 1998

MCC barricade their Neanderthal cave

By Michael Parkinson

IN an uncertain and ever-changing world we can always rely upon the Marylebone Clodpoles Club to stay where they are, which is, philosophically speaking, in 1787 when they were founded. The vote against women was no surprise to seasoned MCC-watchers such as myself who have spent a lifetime charting their absurdities. The members' insensitivity to the world they live in is matched only by their hypocrisy in having the vote in the first place on the pretence of equality. The issue was money; public funds to be used by what must be one of the richest clubs in Britain, if not the world. The only link between the Exchequer and Lord's should be a grant to stuff an MCC member so he might be displayed at the Millennium Dome to demonstrate the link between Neanderthal man and the Long Room.

The only reason I bother even thinking about MCC is because of the influence they have over the game of cricket. They claim they gave up control of the game in the Sixties, and if you believe that then you are probably made of green cheese. What happened 30 years ago was MCC members who ran cricket went undercover. Since that time they have run the game in a variety of disguises. If the ECB are as keen as they say they are to democratise cricket, to create a new public, to stop the game dying on its bum, why do they have their headquarters at Lord's, which is seen the world over as a symbol of privilege, not to say bumbling ineptitude?

The Marylebone Cricket Club are described as a private club with a public function. There you have the problem. It is not only women who are treated shabbily. It is anyone not wearing the badge of privilege.

No matter how hard some members try to present a humane face, the club are perceived as a hoity-toity enclave for toffee-nosed poseurs, and they are likely to remain that way.

What can be done? Well not a lot if we are to rely on the members. Instead of trying to change them we ought to marginalise their influence. Middlesex County Cricket Club should move elsewhere, perhaps even joining forces with Surrey so that the capital might have a cricket stadium fit for the Millennium. The ECB should find new premises away from St John's Wood. No member of MCC should be allowed on any committee to do with the running of cricket for the next 200 years, which is how long they've had hold of the game.

In other words we should leave MCC to their members. That is what they want and I would do nothing to thwart their ambition.

At the same time I don't think the present demonstration of blatant sexism should go unremarked. The Queen is patron of the MCC. I trust she is not amused by last week's vote. Now would she want to lend her name to a club which wouldn't have her as a member? We must be told.

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