MCC celebrate Spirit of Cricket day

Date released: 11 July 2008

On Friday, Lord's hosts the inaugural MCC Spirit of Cricket day at the England v South Africa npower Test match to celebrate the growth of the campaign to spread the ‘play hard, play fair’ message.

A highlight of the day will be the announcement of a national Spirit of Cricket competition winner. Additionally, a cricket demonstration to showcase the MCC Spirit of Cricket Challenge will take place on the outfield while the Cricket Factory will give hundreds of children a hands-on experience at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

The national Spirit of Cricket competition was run by MCC and Chance to shine – a programme regenerating cricket in state schools – to encourage children to design a motto and emblem to represent the Spirit of Cricket.

Evie's winning design: Keep Happy Stay Batty The winning entry – entitled “Keep Happy Stay Batty” - was sent in by Evie Robbins, aged 5, from Cornwall. Evie won a day at the England v South Africa Test match at Lord’s with her family.

Her winning design, together with four runners-up, will be displayed on the replay scoreboards and on special MCC Spirit of Cricket postcards. MCC has also invited Evie to ring the bell in the pavilion signalling the start of the day’s second session. Evie’s school, together with four regional winners, all received cricket playground markings from Chance to shine.

Fun & enjoyable

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England and Chance to shine President said: “Chance to shine is about developing and instilling the highest values around teamwork, friendship & fair play.

"Teaming up with the MCC for the Spirit of Cricket competition highlighted these values both in the playground and classrooms in hundreds of our Chance to shine schools."

“Evie’s delightful design really captures the Spirit of Cricket and the idea that playing cricket, at any level, should be fun and enjoyable.”

Evie's mother Nicola Richards said: "We're really proud of Evie who took a great deal of care with the design.”

The day will also include a lunchtime demonstration of cricket on the outfield by children who participate in the MCC Spirit of Cricket Challenge – the Club’s own coaching and playing programme designed to introduce cricket to primary schoolchildren.

For children that feel inspired by the day’s activities, the Cricket Factory will be on hand to let them ‘have a go’ themselves, in one of three interactive cricket zones.

Summarising the progress of the MCC Spirit of Cricket campaign this year, the Club’s Head of Cricket John Stephenson said : “We’ve seen a growing acceptance this year of the importance of MCC’s Spirit of Cricket campaign in helping to educate the next generation of cricketers.

"Firstly we saw the elite of the game – through the Indian Premier League – sign up to the doctrine. Then recently Archbishop Tutu’s Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s focussed on the philosophy underpinning the Spirit of Cricket message.

"Today’s activities and our collaboration with Chance to shine encapsulate a celebration of grassroots cricket played in the right spirit. As Evie says, the aim is to keep happy and stay batty!”

Also at Lord's

Taking part in the cricket demonstration will be teams from three primary schools - Edmund Waller, Eliot Bank and Myatt Garden. All three are based in Lewisham, South East London. They will be joined by the Finnish under-13 national girls side, who have travelled to London in the hope of establishing a cricket exchange partnership with fellow young Lewisham cricketers. Currently coaches from Lewisham and Finland take part in exchanges but this is the first time the players have travelled. The girls all attend the Töölö ala-aste school in Helsinki, and are coached by Maija Scamans, Finland’s Cricket Development Officer, who also teaches at the school.

The day before their visit to 'The Home of Cricket', the Finnish side visited the MCC Spirit of Cricket Festival at Catford Cyphers Cricket Club between to play a game versus a Lewisham girls side.