IPL sign up to MCC Spirit of Cricket
Date released: 2 April 2008
Marylebone Cricket Club and the DLF Indian Premier League today announced a ground-breaking partnership to support the MCC Spirit of Cricket initiative at the inaugural season of the highly anticipated league to be held across eight cities in India between 18th April and 1st June.
Bradshaw, Modi and Stephenson at the press conference to announce the partnership The pioneering agreement will see each of the eight Indian franchises sign an MCC Spirit of Cricket Declaration at the opening ceremony to demonstrate their commitment to upholding the spirit of the game.
Keith Bradshaw, MCC’s Secretary & Chief Executive, (currently in India with MCC Head of Cricket, John Stephenson) said: "We are delighted that, right from the outset, the DLF Indian Premier League is embracing the MCC Spirit of Cricket initiative.
"This is an innovative and forward-thinking league that has captured the imagination of the cricketing world and it is pleasing that each player and each team will play their part in supporting the very best traditions of the game.
"The Spirit of Cricket is a worldwide concept that affects all players of the game, from the grassroots to the elite level, and we believe it’s fitting for MCC – a worldwide cricket club with an independent voice in the game – to promote the Spirit of Cricket in partnership with the DLF Indian Premier League.
"We look forward to a league full of great cricket and superb cricketers playing in the right way – hard but fair."
Role models
Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League, further added, "I am happy that the DLF Indian Premier League will adopt MCC’s doctrine on the Spirit of Cricket.
"This partnership between the DLF Indian Premier League and MCC is both exciting and important. It is exciting to be associated with the most famous cricket club in the world, which is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket and the upholder of the Spirit of the Game."
"More importantly, all the cricketers playing in the inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League are role models for an entire generation of youth and it is crucial for youngsters all over the world to learn straight away the values of this great game and the spirit in which it should be played.
Modi: Keen to teach youngsters the values of the game "The eyes of the world will be on the DLF Indian Premier League and we want to see cricket, and the Spirit of Cricket, at its best."
Custodian of the laws
MCC is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket. When the current Code of Laws was introduced, in 2000, it included, for the first time, a Preamble on the Spirit of Cricket.
Colin Cowdrey and Ted Dexter, two distinguished MCC Members (and ex-England captains) were at the forefront of this MCC Spirit of Cricket campaign.
The DLF Indian Premier league is set to commence on Friday 18th April when Bangalore Royal Challengers play host to the Kolkata Knight Riders. There are eight teams in the league and a total of 59 matches.
The Bangalore Royal Challengers are captained by Rahul Dravid and include current India Test captain, Anil Kumble, in their squad. Both players sit on MCC’s World Cricket Committee.
MCC & Spirit of Cricket
MCC’s commitment to the Spirit of Cricket is wide-ranging:
- A successful UK grassroots programme – the MCC Spirit of Cricket Challenge – is entering its 10th year. This programme introduces primary-school children to the game. The Challenge went abroad for the first time in December 2007 when it visited Galle in Sri Lanka.
- In addition, Lord’s hosts the annual Cowdrey Lecture, a platform for some of the leading names in the sport to talk about the dominant cricket issues of the day.
Past speakers have included Sunil Gavaskar, Richie Benaud and Geoff Boycott.
Access a list of past speakers and listen back to their lectures.
- Finally, hundreds and thousands of MCC Spirit of Cricket postcards have been translated and distributed all around the world to promote the campaign.
