An acrimonious row between MCC members and their club's general
committee could produce another "boycott" of the Lord's pavilion for
Australia's Super Six tie against Zimbabwe today.
At the opening match between England and Sri Lanka last month, there
was an embarrassing number of empty seats. Many members chose to
watch from other vantage points or from the Long Room or the Bowlers
bar. Others simply had not applied for tickets.
Ostensibly, they are angry at having to pay up to £100 a ticket for
World Cup games at Lord's - despite the fact that they technically
own the club. Even worse, having purchased a ticket, they now have to
sit in allocated seats in the pavilion, as opposed to those they have
occupied with friends for many years.
Objectors claim, however, that a much more fundamental issue is at
stake: "This argument is not going to go away and has very little to
do with money, although it is plainly ridiculous that the landlords
are being charged rent by the tenants," said Michael Geliot.
"Primarily we are complaining about the incompetence and secrecy of
the MCC committee. We, the members who own the club, were never
consulted about paying for tickets and the arrangements to allocate
seats. Authority in this matter was given to the ICC without our
permission."
Another member said: "The trouble at Lord's is that we are suffering
from an 'old farts' situation. The problem is with the committees -
not the membership. The committees have become autocratic and there
are too many of them. Nor do they seem representative of the
membership, who are a broad-minded bunch from all walks of society."
Source :: The Electronic Telegraph