Now come along gentlemen and eat up those greens (18 May 1999)

18 May 1999

Now come along gentlemen and eat up those greens

Sybil Ruscoe

A friend of mine returned from the opening game of the World Cup with two application forms. One for the MCC, the other for the Barmy Army. I know which one I would be filling in. There was no sadder sound on Friday than the echoing clatter of the ball on the empty white benches of the pavilion at Lord's.

It was a sorry sight. The altar of the temple of our great game virtually unadorned all day, its privileged congregation electing to boycott the start of the carnival in a pitiful disagreement over having to pay for tickets.

Contrast Friday's scene with the start of a Test match. As a radio presenter on 5 Live, in the past I've been lucky enough to stand alongside the members at the start of play -the unique atmosphere of hushed expectation as the players make their way through the Long Room, followed by a ripple of applause from the pavilion that grows to a united roar of appreciation as the fielders and batsmen reach the pitch.

How sad that England and Sri Lanka strode out to a sound more appropriate to the start of a schoolboy match at Lord's rather than the beginning of the biggest World Cup of cricket.

The members were acting like sulky schoolboys themselves, petulantly throwing down their bats and refusing to come out to play. Even those who did turn up seemed to be showing all the reluctance of a child refusing to eat his greens.

Indeed, one member I spotted appeared to spend the entire day buried behind a newspaper, barely bothering to look up at what was happening on the pitch.

What sort of message did it send out to the global cricketing audience, or indeed the fans watching at home? It is hard to imagine members of the Royal and Ancient staying at home at the start of the Open; the All England Club members boycotting Wimbledon or the FA missing the Cup Final at Wembley.

To be fair, not everyone outside cricket understands the complexities of the relationship between the national game and the incumbents of St John's Wood. The MCC are a private club and members guard that status jealously.

It is hard for the ordinary fan, who has to spend hours on the phone to get a ticket, to grasp the fact that there are supporters who may choose not to take up the chance of sitting in the best seats in the house.

Let there be no misunderstanding. I am sympathetic to those MCC members who feel aggrieved at having to buy a ticket to watch cricket at their own club - on top of forking out thousands of pounds for life membership.

But there are times when sacrifices have to be made for the greater good of the game and MCC members had a special responsibility on Friday to bury their pride, sign the cheques and support the tournament. Was it really too much to ask, especially when MCC members could buy their tickets at a reduced rate, £45 instead of £60?

Presumably those in the privileged ranks want to see our game grow and develop, and should be able to appreciate that much of the profit from the tournament will be ploughed back into cricket here at home. This is money that will be well spent at county and local level investing in the future.

There is so much talk now of how cricket can enthuse the younger generation in the face of intense competition from football, TV and computers. It is up to the elders and betters to set an example in this regard.

We can only hope the teenagers were watching the action on the pitch and not the apathetic show on the tiers of the pavilion - Alec Stewart leading from the front; a rejuvenated fielding side with Nasser Hussain performing Rhodes-like acrobatics; Alan Mullally's waspish left-armers dismantling Sri Lanka's top order.

We cannot fault the example set by England on Friday. While not electrifying, they did the job and put two points on the board.

I dearly hope the atmosphere will be different when the carnival returns to Lord's for the Super Six match on June 9. Whether England are playing or not, I urge the members to put on their blazers and ties, fill the benches and show the world that, whatever the price, they are proud to be the guardians of the global game.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)