MCC CRACKDOWN AFTER WOMAN ‘ATTACKED’ AT LORD’S

MCC, guardians of the spirit of cricket and its laws, have tightened the code of conduct for their 23,000-strong membership after it emerged a woman was assaulted in the Lord’s pavilion last summer and a man subjected to anti-semitic abuse. The stories were told by the two victims at Wednesday’s AGM after club president Anthony Wreford reminded members the eyes of the global cricket community would be on them this summer. Lord’s hosts the World Cup final on July 14, followed by Tests against Ireland and Australia. The woman stood up at the meeting to explain that she had been ‘attacked’, and was surprised when other members failed to come immediately to her assistance. The details of the assault are unclear and because the police were involved MCC would not say what action, if any, was taken against her alleged assailant. After speaking, the woman received a round of applause. The case of anti-semitism

also led to police involvement before the man dropped the charges for fear of involving the club in bad publicity. MCC secretary and chief executive Guy Lavender said in a statement to

Sportsmail: ‘Members voted overwhelmingly to approve the inclusion of an internal code of conduct. ‘While disciplinary procedures were already included in the club’s rules, it was felt that a code of conduct, defining in more detail the behaviour expected of MCC members, is both timely and necessary, reflecting the increasingly diverse profile of the membership and the current positive period of change for MCC. ‘The vast majority of members respect the club’s values and thoroughly enjoy their visits to Lord’s. But MCC is not immune from occasional incidents of poor behaviour, and we will always address these matters swiftly and appropriately. The AGM highlighted the club’s stance that such behaviour will not be tolerated. ‘Each matter was dealt with in a proactive manner and the club’s response was praised by the individuals concerned.’ The news follows some more positive headlines for MCC. On Monday, it was announced that 134 women had joined the club, the biggest single influx since the men-only rule was ditched in 1998. Two days later, it emerged that Wreford’s successor as president would be the popular former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara — the first non-Briton to hold the office.