Over 600 guests will fill the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s on Thursday 21 March to watch the first MCC Cowdrey Lecture in its history to have more than one keynote speaker.
This year’s event will feature stars from BBC’s hugely popular cricket podcast, Tailenders, to bring an entertaining twist to the usual format.
Jimmy Anderson, Greg James and Felix White will host an evening of entertaining cricket chat and discussion, with special guests Stuart Broad and Isa Guha joining them on stage. MCC President Mark Nicholas, who invited the stars of Tailenders to lead the show following an idea put forward by Lord Cowdrey’s grandson, Charlie Cowdrey, will also feature in the show.
MCC Memeber tickets were distributed via a ballot and are now no longer available. In one of the most oversubscribed ballots in the event's history, the only way to watch the show is online via MCC's YouTube and Facebook channels.
The MCC Cowdrey Lecture, often referred to as the ‘Spirit of Cricket Lecture’, has become an annual highlight in the cricketing calendar. It was created in memory of Colin Cowdrey (later Lord Cowdrey), the former England captain who is credited with co-authoring the Spirit of Cricket – an outline for fair play that was later added as the official preamble to the Laws of Cricket.
Guha, the former England bowler who played in and won the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia, is a leading cricket commentator and sports broadcaster. Isa joins previously announced special guest Stuart Broad on stage with the Tailenders.
The event follows the hugely successful recent run of Tailenders Live shows across the country. The hit podcast is one of the most successful cricket podcasts and has had over 2.5million listens on BBC Sounds.
"Knowing the Tailenders, I’m sure this is going to be a fun, entertaining and thought-provoking evening that I’m delighted to be part of”
As is now customary, the Cowdrey Lecture will be streamed live on MCC’s YouTube and Facebook channels, to allow as many cricket supporters from across the globe to access each unique oration as possible. The list of past keynote speakers includes Richie Benaud, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan and Kumar Sangakkara. Greg James and Felix White will follow in the footsteps of the only other two non-cricketing speakers to take the stage, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Stephen Fry.
MCC President, Mark Nicholas, said: “1,304 Test match wickets between them and indisputably two of England’s greatest ever cricketers: yes, next Thursday 21 March, we welcome Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad to Lord’s for the Cowdrey evening.
"With them will be Isa Guha, a fine bowler for England and a wonderful broadcaster of the game we all so love. What a threesome to honour the name of the great Colin Cowdrey and, alongside the wit and wisdom of the rest of the Tailenders team, to entertain a full house in the Nursery Pavilion!”
Isa Guha added: "It is an honour to be invited when you consider the names of speakers and special guests that have been part of the Cowdrey Lecture in the past. Knowing the Tailenders, I’m sure this is going to be a fun, entertaining and thought-provoking evening that I’m delighted to be part of”.