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| Fair play in the heat of battle |
The head of the MCC tells Joel Taylor about
his role in ensuring the spirit of cricket continues to thrive
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The Ashes
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WHEN the Australian cricket team arrived in Britain in late spring
it was trumpeted as the greatest team ever assembled, to rival Don
Bradman’s “Invincibles” of 1948 who didn’t lose
a single game.
But the lustre didn’t last. They were defeated by cricketing
minnows Bangladesh and eventually they surrendered the Ashes for
the first time in more than 16 years at the Oval.
Roger Knight, the secretary and chief executive of the world’s
most famous cricket club, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has
been lucky enough to have watched much of the summer’s entertainment.
“Obviously we held the first test here,” he says in his
office at Lord’s, “so I was here every day.”
England lost that test heavily and many predicted a long and disappointing
summer. But Roger was able to watch much of the ensuing success.
He says: “I spent a day at Edgbaston, a day at Old Trafford,
I wasn’t able to get to Trent Bridge and I was lucky enough
to spend two days at the Oval.”
But where was he for that moment when England’s wicketkeeper
Geraint Jones caught Australian tail-ender Michael Kasprowicz at
Edgbaston, with just three runs needed?
“Actually, I was on the way to the opera,” Mr Knight admits.
“But I was in such a state because it was so tense. I drove
around the car park until it was all over because I didn’t
want my friends to see me in the mess I was in.”
He adds: “It was such a fantastic series. The great thing about
the England team is that it is obvious that they really enjoy playing
with each other.
“Michael Vaughan is a very tough leader but his team love playing
for him and Andrew Flintoff is at the centre of everything.
“It may surprise you that he is much quieter in person, but
he is really an excellent team man.
“And it is the combination of individual brilliance, set within
the context of a team, that makes cricket such a wonderful game.”
Ironically, now that England have won the Ashes, the precious urn
which holds the burnt bails from the 1882 match when the competition
began, is about to tour Australia for the first time. Until now,
it has been kept safely locked away at Lord’s.
Roger has been at the helm of the MCC since 1993, steering the club
famous for its red and yellow ties, since it relinquished its control
of world cricket to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1994.
He says: “It was ridiculous that a private members’ club
should run global cricket, but it was a difficult time because we
could quite easily have withered away and not really mattered anymore.
“Yet one of the things we have done is remain relevant.”
It has been a dramatic decade and Roger has overseen many changes
at the old ground in St John’s Wood and of the club itself.
During his tenure, the club has constructed the state-of-the-art
media centre opposite the pavilion and the refurbishment of one
of the stands.
“Oddly enough,” he says, “we had more trouble getting
the stand upgraded than we did with the media centre – it had
to go to appeal.”
But perhaps the issue which garnered the most headlines was the
thorny subject of accepting female members, a suggestion which has
been resisted by the club for decades.
He says: “Well it was something that I was very keen to achieve
so I am pleased to have got that through.” Another achievement
has been the introduction of the Spirit of Cricket doctrine, which
encourages sides to play fairly and with respect – a response
to the increasingly barbed and vitriolic heckling that was becoming
a feature of the game.
He says: “That is what has made this summer so good. It was
played by the two best sides in the world and you could see that
there was a huge amount of respect between all the players.
“They played unbelievably tough cricket but afterwards they
would have a beer and joke.”
Roger comes from a sporting family and while at Dulwich College,
south London, realised he was particularly talented at rugby and
cricket.
After university he became a teacher, first at Dulwich before becoming
headmaster at Worksop College.
And he pursued a successful first-class cricket career, appearing
for Gloucestershire, Sussex and Surrey, where he was captain between
1978 and 1983.
He says: “I was very lucky having a profession that had such
long summer holidays allowing me to play cricket.”
He joined the MCC as a committee member in 1989 before he secured
the senior role.
He has coached teams, has been responsible for several world tours
and developing the game in places like China.
As secretary and chief executive he benefits from a house within
the ground, but he also has a home in Dorset.
But towards the end of next year he is due to retire but Roger makes
it clear that he won’t be hanging up his red and yellow tie
for good.
He says: “I think I still have much to offer and want to stay
in the game, but we will have to see what opportunities arise.”
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Look for vintage not barcode
FULL STORY...
... and another thing....
Typical isn’t it? You leave the country for a few days
and when you get back everything you thought you knew is wrong.
FULL STORY...
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