Marylebone Cricket Club

Marylebone Cricket Club, known worldwide as MCC, was founded in 1787 by members of the White Conduit Club, formerly based in Islington, who had relocated to a new ground opened by Thomas Lord on Dorset Fields in Marylebone. This venue was the first of three leased by Lord and named after him. The current Lord's Cricket Ground, in St John's Wood, was opened in 1814.

In 1788, only a year after the club was formed, MCC re-enacted the Laws of Cricket which had first been encoded in 1744 and revised in 1774. This gave the club premier status within English cricket and, as the sport's legislator, considerable influence globally. Although MCC no longer have any governance within cricket, they retain copyright of the Laws and are responsible for all updates and revisions. The last significant revision was completed in 2017.

In 1903, MCC took over the organisation and management of the England team and arranged the 1903–04 tour of Australia as their first international venture. That tour was a success and England, captained by Pelham Warner, won the "Ashes" for the first time since 1896. MCC continued to manage England until the Centenary Test in February 1977. When the England team were on tour under MCC auspices, they were always called England in Test matches and MCC in non-international matches.

Bibliography

• Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC): Laws of Cricket. MCC (2017).
• Warner, Pelham: Lord's, 1787–1945. Harrap (1946).