Lord’s hosts Running Out of Time Relay to spread awareness of climate change

As part of their country-wide route to shine a light on the effects of climate change, the Running Out of Time Relay was hosted by MCC at Lord’s today.

The Relay, now in its third year, runs 2,436km from Ben Nevis in Scotland to Big Ben and aims to ‘supercharge awareness, celebrate great climate work and inspire action.’

The Lord’s leg of the relay fell on Show Your Stripes Day, which highlights University of Reading’s Climate Stripes campaign, a visual way of communicating the impacts of global warming. The Climate Stripes were displayed on the Allen stand scoreboard.

A passing of the relay’s baton took place, with Dan Thompson, co-founder of the Running Out of Time Relay, and Andrew Charlton-Perez, Professor of Meteorology at University of Reading making the famous walk from the Home Dressing Room, through the Long Room and out onto the edge of the pitch.

The baton was then passed to a member of the Lord’s Ground staff, who drove across the pitch on one of MCC’s electric lawnmowers which symbolises the efforts the Club are making to become fully electric as it looks to reach net zero carbon by 2040. Finally, the baton was handed to participants of the relay’s next stage.

"At a time where cricket worldwide has been severely affected by the climate crisis, it is important that MCC does what it can to create more awareness of the significant challenge we face"

Stuart Dunlop, MCC Sustainability Manager, said: “At a time where cricket worldwide has been severely affected by the climate crisis, it is important that MCC does what it can to create more awareness of the significant challenge we face.

“The work that the Running Out of Time Relay team has done is excellent, and it has been great to come together with them and the University of Reading to help amplify the need for climate action.”

Dan Thompson, co-founder of the Running Out of Time Climate Relay said: “We’re hugely grateful to MCC for helping us spread this important message at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Sport is hugely affected by global climate change, and cricket is no exception.

"We are delighted that we could pass through this iconic ground on our journey, to share our plea to politicians to cut emissions, restore nature and help those most affected by climate change.”

Andrew Charlton-Perez, Professor of Meteorology at University of Reading, said: “It was a real pleasure to be at Lord’s today to see the Running Out Of Time relay pass through the Long Room and Pavilion and across the outfield. Having the iconic climate stripes displayed on the Lord’s scoreboard really brought home to me as both a climate scientist and a cricket fan how important it is that we work together for climate action in all the different parts of our lives. 

“Part of the reason for our visit was to highlight the fantastic work that the team at the MCC and Lord’s are doing to reduce the environmental footprint of their own operations and to safeguard the future of cricket for the millions of cricketers around the world including my son.”

For more information on MCC’s sustainability work, visit lords.org/sustainability.