Cowdrey Lecture 2026

RISHI SUNAK DELIVERS THE 2026 MCC COWDREY LECTURE

The 24th MCC Cowdrey Lecture took place at Lord’s on Thursday 17 September, with MCC Members and guests in attendance.

Following the keynote address, MCC Chair Mark Nicholas was joined by guest panellists Mo Bobat and Andy Flower who discussed their experiences working together in the IPL and The Hundred.

The lecture was livestreamed via the Lord’s YouTube channel reaching viewers from around the world. A recording of the lecture is available to watch here.

The MCC Cowdrey Lecture, in memory of Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, has become an annual highlight in the cricketing calendar, provoking debate and discussion of the major issues facing the game today.

Previous lecturers

The 2025 MCC Cowdrey lecture, featuring stars of BBC Test Match Special commentary team, took place last year on Thursday 3 April. You can watch again on the Lord’s YouTube channel via the link below.

You can also view previous MCC Cowdrey Lectures delivered by cricketing enthusiasts and legends such as Sir Andrew Strauss (2023), Stephen Fry (2021) and Mike Brearley (2019) – see below for the full list.

History

The event is named after Lord Colin Cowdrey, the former England captain who is credited with initiating the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ – an outline for fair play that was later officially added as a preamble to the Laws of Cricket.

Lord Cowdrey passed away in December 2000 and in his memory, the Cowdrey Lecture was born. The first lecture took place in 2001 and was delivered by the former Australian captain Richie Benaud.

The speakers have customarily been distinguished former cricketers or cricketing personalities, other than when Desmond Tutu delivered the Lecture in 2008. Kumar Sangakkara, in 2011, is the only player who was still active in their playing career at the time of giving the Lecture.

Previous Speakers

The full list of previous speakers are as follows: