Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is delighted to be partnering the Nokia Champions League Twenty20 in promoting the Spirit of Cricket worldwide for a third year.

About MCC

Founded in 1787, MCC is the guardian of the Laws and Spirit of Cricket and an innovative independent voice in the world game. It is also the world’s most active cricket-playing club and the owner of Lord's - The Home of Cricket. The Club plays around 500 games each year at home and abroad, against teams ranging from schools to international sides.

MCC strives to ensure the health of the game from the school field to the international arena, from running coaching sessions for youngsters to undertaking research into the future health of Test cricket. In recent years MCC has worked to develop a lasting, durable pink ball for use in day/night cricket, and has put forward proposals for a World Test Championship. 

In 2010 the Club made history by sponsoring international cricket – the Pakistan v Australia Test and Twenty20 series in England – for the first time. 


About MCC Spirit of Cricket

MCC has long believed that cricket should be played in accordance with its traditional spirit, as well as within its Laws, and the Club works tirelessly to promote the Spirit of Cricket to cricket players, officials and fans. In the late 1990s, two distinguished MCC members (and former England captains), Ted Dexter and Lord (Colin) Cowdrey, sought to enshrine the Spirit of Cricket in the game's Laws. The resulting Preamble to the Laws of Cricket sought to remind players of their responsibility for ensuring that the game is always played in a truly sportsmanlike manner. It highlights the roles and responsibilities of captains, players and umpires in respecting and upholding the Spirit of Cricket, and making the game fair, competitive and enjoyable. Now into its second decade, the Spirit of Cricket is a central force for good in the game at all levels. It has been embraced by the finest players including all the Nokia Champions League Twenty20 captains in the world, and is also being used in schools to teach children about the benefits of teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship and learning how to win and lose.

The Pakistan v Australia Test and Twenty20 series in England in the summer of 2010 was played under the MCC Spirit of Cricket banner, with players from both teams endorsing the principles of playing hard, fair and having fun.

Central to the MCC Spirit of Cricket message for all, however, is respect. Respect for one’s captain, opponent and the umpires and respect for this great game. Cricket should be played hard and it should be played to win, but not at all costs.

The great success of the both the Nokia Champions League Twenty20 and the IPL has made it an excellent vehicle for promoting the Spirit of Cricket to new audiences worldwide and for ensuring some of the very best and most exciting players endorse the play hard, play fair message.