Fair play?
ALUMNI and students are disappointed to hear the MCC’S announcement that 2022 will be the last year that Lord’s will host Eton vs Harrow and Oxford vs Cambridge matches, which have run for some 200 years, as are some of the club’s members, who were not consulted.
‘There are a number of alterations to our fixture schedule and these are designed to increase the playing opportunities for a wider range of players, as well as improving the balance between men’s and women’s cricket,’ says Guy Lavender, MCC chief executive and secretary. This year, Lord’s will host its first Women’s One-day International for five years and the final Oxford vs Cambridge fixture will be the first time the men’s and women’s sides both play on the Main Ground. Apparently, the plan is to have various ‘Road to Lords’ events for clubs and schools in future.
The Eton vs Harrow match is the MCC’S longest-running fixture—lord Byron played for Harrow in the first match in 1805, ‘very badly’, said his captain— and the first varsity match was in 1827.
‘When I was on the committee, the consensus was that these two fixtures were emblematic and symbolic in reflecting the traditions of the game and the spirit in which it should be played,’ comments Oxford-educated Robert Griffiths QC. History is ‘what makes Lord’s so special,’ adds former MCC chairman Charles Fry. ‘What’s next, the Boat Race?’ asks Sir Gerald Barling, who attended New College, Oxford. ‘I will sorely miss this great Lord’s tradition.’
However, old Etonian Peter Worsley, who studied at Oxford and is an MCC member, thinks the move is ‘probably a good thing. Surely, it’s time we move on? Especially as both schools have beautiful home grounds. They were never matches that I would have gone to back in the day and, as far as I’m aware, they don’t have the reputation for being the best ambassadors for the schools or the game’.
‘Although it has been a great privilege to play at Lord’s all these years, the principle of an annual Harrow vs Eton game will persist,’ adds a Harrow spokesperson. ‘In its history, this match has been played at other locations.’
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5) In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, what type of animal is Minimus?