Universities Status Under Review

UK universities’ first-class status under threat.

Elizabeth Ammon.

The Times.

Saturday, 13 May 2017.

PTG 2132-10810.

The early-season matches between counties and universities, the Marylebone Cricket Club University (MCCU) program which if funded by the MCC, may lose first-class status following increasing pressure on the England and Wales Cricket (ECB) Board from a number of county chairmen.

At a meeting of county chiefs this week which included Gerald Corbett the MCC chairman, the issue of the status of MCCU matches was raised and it is understood that there was general, although not unanimous, agreement that while the program is an important one, the matches against universities, which take place prior to the County Championship season, should not count as first-class.

There is a significant gulf in quality between counties and the MCCU teams and there is a feeling among many that the first-class status of some of the matches means that counties field their strongest XIs, leading to significant mismatches and causing anomalies in first-class averages.   For example, in this year’s match between Lancashire and Cambridge MCCU, Lancashire bowled out their opponents for 62 in the first innings and 56 in the second, Lancashire declaring on 6/338 in theirs.

The ECB noted the views of the county chairmen — this is not the first time that the issue has been raised — and says that it is in discussions with the MCC as part of a review of player pathways. Last year the ECB and MCC commissioned a report from a consultancy firm on pathways for young cricketers, including the MCCU program. Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, and John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, are now reviewing the recommendations.

Any proposals on future changes to the MCCU program and other pathways, including county academies and minor counties cricket, will be put to the ECB board next month. Because of this review, no decisions have been made about the status of the matches or the future of the program.  The MCC says that it remains fully committed to it and to maintaining the first-class status of some of the matches because they provide better sponsorship opportunities and give the players a valuable incentive to perform.

The MCCU program began when Graeme Fowler, the former England opener, founded the Durham University centre of excellence in 1996. Its success prompted the ECB to set up the other five centres. The program gained first-class status in 2001 and has been run and funded by MCC since 2005. Strauss, the former England captain, graduated through the system at Durham and is believed to be a strong advocate of it, although open to recommendations about securing its future. There is a feeling among some, including Fowler, that the program should be funded by the ECB, rather than MCC.

Until 2016 each of the six university centres — Cambridge, Oxford, Loughborough, Cardiff, Durham and Leeds/Bradford — received £UK92,000 ($A160,600) a year from the MCC, but last year their central funding was halved to £46,000 ($A80,300), although some of the shortfall was made up by sponsorship from multinational professional services firm Deloitte.