I went to day of the Middlesex Lancashire game at Lords last year and some of the outfits of the opposition members in gaudy Purple and Red gave the Egg and Bacon crowd a run for their money in sartorial otherness
Still love to see the egg and bacon ensembles the members wear in the UK. Unlike my fellow members at the 'G' (Melbourne Cricket Club) who disregard their colours of red, white and blue completely when it comes to match day.
Does this mean that a republic is not to far away in Oz?
Not quite sure what your point is here Mike. Here in Melbourne in 2026 the Lyceum club is 100% women and, I’m guessing, probably over 90% white. No one seems to complain about that. If these blokes want to dress up in gaudy attire to watch the cricket then I say let ‘em.
You said the MCC is composed almost entirely of white males, with the inference being that in 2026 that does not fit with modern expectations around segregation of the sexes (while most of the world….). That is unambiguously critical. But the MCC has admitted women since 1998, which puts it ahead of many women-only clubs that continue to deny male membership. And I’d be interested to know where you get the “96% white” figure from? I strongly doubt the MCC keeps, let alone divulges, such information, so is this just heresay or base prejudice? There are probably many reasons to be critical of the MCC but segregation on the basis of ethnicity or gender in 2026 surely isn’t one of them.
This BBC report from 2023 based on the ICEC report: "Either by accident or design, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket's (ICEC) damning report into the "widespread" discrimination in the game crash-landed on the eve of a Lord's Ashes Test - findings of racism, sexism, classism and elitism laid bare just in time for the showpiece event of the marquee Test series at the self-styled 'Home of Cricket'."
Racism, sexism, classism and elitism don't top my list of priorities when looking to join a CRICKET club: that's a cricket club, not a men's club or a women's club. The MCC is an anachronistic reminder of how dreadful England can be, and is.
I went to day of the Middlesex Lancashire game at Lords last year and some of the outfits of the opposition members in gaudy Purple and Red gave the Egg and Bacon crowd a run for their money in sartorial otherness
“I came on the 12.10 bus, the last bus of the evening”.
Was he only one in the queue when you arrived ? If not did you you ask him what time the next one came ?
It's sort of mind boggling. What mental/physical condition would you actually be in. Fall asleep even before lunch....?
Still love to see the egg and bacon ensembles the members wear in the UK. Unlike my fellow members at the 'G' (Melbourne Cricket Club) who disregard their colours of red, white and blue completely when it comes to match day.
Does this mean that a republic is not to far away in Oz?
Looks like the advertising for the movie “The Usual Suspects”.
Don’t know which one is Kayser Soze though!
While most of the world is living in 2026, the MCC is 96 per cent white and 97 per cent male.
Not quite sure what your point is here Mike. Here in Melbourne in 2026 the Lyceum club is 100% women and, I’m guessing, probably over 90% white. No one seems to complain about that. If these blokes want to dress up in gaudy attire to watch the cricket then I say let ‘em.
I made the point quite unambiguously I thought. If you can't see it, that's fine.
You said the MCC is composed almost entirely of white males, with the inference being that in 2026 that does not fit with modern expectations around segregation of the sexes (while most of the world….). That is unambiguously critical. But the MCC has admitted women since 1998, which puts it ahead of many women-only clubs that continue to deny male membership. And I’d be interested to know where you get the “96% white” figure from? I strongly doubt the MCC keeps, let alone divulges, such information, so is this just heresay or base prejudice? There are probably many reasons to be critical of the MCC but segregation on the basis of ethnicity or gender in 2026 surely isn’t one of them.
This BBC report from 2023 based on the ICEC report: "Either by accident or design, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket's (ICEC) damning report into the "widespread" discrimination in the game crash-landed on the eve of a Lord's Ashes Test - findings of racism, sexism, classism and elitism laid bare just in time for the showpiece event of the marquee Test series at the self-styled 'Home of Cricket'."
Racism, sexism, classism and elitism don't top my list of priorities when looking to join a CRICKET club: that's a cricket club, not a men's club or a women's club. The MCC is an anachronistic reminder of how dreadful England can be, and is.