New MCC chairman wants to ‘make club fun again’

Incoming MCC chairman Mark Nicholas has said he wants to make the club “fun” again, and cited membership harmony as his first priority.

Nicholas, the veteran broadcaster, former Telegraph Sport columnist and ex-Hampshire captain, is in the curious position of being both MCC’s current president – having succeeded comedian Stephen Fry last October – and incoming chairman when he will change role in October as he replaces Bruce Carnegie-Brown for a three-year term.

‌Nicholas has been the driving force behind MCC’s World Cricket Connects, a conference that takes place at Lord’s on July 5, featuring four panels on the game’s future. Speakers include chairman of the International Cricket Council Greg Barclay, Indian Premier League owners Venky Mysore and Manoj Badale, as well as England Test coach Brendon McCullum with contributions from the likes of Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins. 

Attendees include Jay Shah, the honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, who Nicholas describes as “the most powerful man in cricket”.

‌Of the event, Nicholas said: “I wondered how you could improve MCC’s global contribution. Is MCC consigned to the past in terms of global relevance or not? I decided not. Thought it was a good time for a neutral body to knit things together a bit.”

‌Threading through the day will be franchise cricket, an issue that is increasingly relevant to MCC as the English game prepares to sell stakes in the eight Hundred teams later this year. Nicholas has revealed that MCC have held “embryonic” discussions with five IPL franchises in investing in the Lord’s-based team, which is currently called London Spirit but could change in 2025.

‌MCC are currently alone among the eight Hundred hosts in giving their members a vote on the matter. They are not required to constitutionally, but Nicholas believes it is right to engage with members following a fractious few years at Lord’s where there have been disputes over whether historic fixtures such as Eton v Harrow should take place on the ground, and controversy around comments made by Stephen Fry, the actor and comedian who he succeeded as president. Nicholas said he wants members to have a voice.

‌“We will always be a member’s club,” said Nicholas, when asked what he sees as the club’s role in the modern day. “There are more than 24,000 [members] if you include associates. The first target is membership harmony and I think that’s really doable. [We want] Greater clarity in leadership, tweaks to governance. As a member you are entitled to a view. It’s very easy to knock people back because they’re difficult, but actually there is quite a lot of good thinking that comes out of activism. You have to treat people with respect, hear the view.

‌“I like the idea of it [the club] being a bit more fun. I think it’s got a bit ‘heads down’. I want it to be heads up again. I think you can be proud to be an MCC member.

“‌We are a relatively neutral body so we can have a voice. Foundation, local community.”

‌“Through work with the foundation and in the local community, we want to open it [Lord’s] up, not in a way that stops it having that little bit of mystique, but opens it up in a way that excites people, is not a closed door to an ordinary child.”

‘We’ve got to share the process with members’

‌Nicholas described the Hundred sale, which will take place later this year, as “monumental” for MCC. Under plans drawn up by the England and Wales Cricket Board, the club, as proprietors of Lord’s, will be gifted 51% of London Spirit, which they can sell as much as they please (they have previously implied they intend to keep it). The remaining 49% will be sold by ECB to an investor of MCC’s choosing, with the funds spread through the game.

‌“What we are putting to a vote [among members], is whether to accept the ECB’s offer of 51 per cent share of this franchise,” said Nicholas. “That is fundamental, monumental. It’s really interesting, so we have to get it right, and we’ve got to share the process with members.

‌“The members’ view matters. The rules of the club allow us to make our own decision on the subject. There is no obligation to engage the members at all, but that is not the way to treat your members. We get the very strong sense that there is real excitement. I think having a team is good, and that is an opportunity to be engaged in the modern game.”

‌Nicholas speculated IPL franchises were the most likely investors in the team at Lord’s, which is considered by experts to be the most valuable of the eight.

‌“We have met five IPL franchises, briefly, in a soft conversation, about their interest or otherwise in Lord’s,” he said.

‌“The truth is not everything is clear yet. How the bidding process takes place, there is still a lot to learn.”

‌It is understood that MCC met with representatives from Mumbai Indians, who are owned by the family of Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, during the ongoing T20 World Cup.