Prestigious fixture with MCC held
This is the time of year when cricket comes to the fore at Rydal Penrhos. It's one of the finest traditions at the school and the programme has produced a wealth of Welsh internationals in recent years.
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 made its triumphant return in 2021 after COVID-19 restrictions prevented the 2020 occasion from taking place.
The eagerly-anticipated match took place once again this summer, with the MCC descending on Rydal Penrhos’ exceptional New Field facility on Wednesday 22 June for what was another fantastic occasion for those involved.
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 contractors to make some notable improvements.
Fixtures are once again in full swing across various age brackets across the school, with experience of playing competitively proven to enhance the development of aspiring cricketers, who worked hard during coaching sessions at the school’s specialist outdoor nets area in the lead-up to the fixture.
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.
We would like to thank the MCC for visiting us once again and look forward to welcoming them back to New Field in 2023.