Annual MCC fixture set for 2021 return
We have so missed sporting fixtures over the last 12 months as a result of the Covid-19 rules. However, with restrictions lifting and cases almost non-existent across the region, things are now looking up for aspiring young sporting stars at Rydal Penrhos over the summer term.
This is the time of year where cricket comes to the fore, which is one of the finest traditions at the school and the programme has produced a wealth of Welsh internationals in recent years, including Rydal Penrhos’ most recent first XI captain, Owen Reilly.
One of the most prominent dates on the school’s sporting calendar is the annual fixture against Marylebone Cricket Club, which dates back to the early 1900s and was unfortunately unable to take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thankfully, this match is set to go ahead this summer providing there are no further complications, with a date set for Monday 5 July for what should be another memorable occasion for those involved.
Although there has been no cricket played in recent months, Rydal Penrhos has invested a significant amount in re-invigorating the wicket and playing surface over the winter, with the school’s staff working with the expert team at 360 Groundcare to make some notable improvements.
A number of other fixtures are also scheduled in accordance with current guidelines, which is another step towards normality after a difficult few months throughout education and especially from a sporting point of view.
Marylebone Cricket Club was founded in 1787, taking as its home a cricket ground set up by the ambitious entrepreneur Thomas Lord staged his first match – between Middlesex and Essex – playing at a ground on Dorset Fields in Marylebone.
The following year, MCC laid down a Code of Laws, requiring the wickets to be pitched 22 yards apart and detailing how players could be given out. Its Laws were adopted throughout the game – and the club remains the custodian and arbiter of Laws relating to cricket around the world.
In 1814 MCC moved up the road to a new rural ground in St John’s Wood – which remains their home to this day.
A decade later, when Lord was 70 years old, he sold the ground to a Bank of England director, William Ward, for £5,400. Having provided the MCC with a ground for 38 years, Lord retired before passing away seven years later.
In the 1870s, MCC decided it wanted to get involved in county cricket, which was growing in popularity.
In 1877, it invited Middlesex to adopt Lord’s as its county ground – an arrangement which continues over 140 years later.