The Brits love their tradition, even more than they like minding their Ps and Qs and coming up with food which Andre Agassi called ‘clogs up one's arteries without tasting good'.
So, it was quite a shock when the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club, the owner of Lord’s Ground and the self-professed ‘guardian of the Laws of the game’ relaxed its rule to allow gentlemen to dispense with the jacket.
As per use, the dress code for men categorically states: “Gentlemen shall wear lounge suits or tailored jacket and trousers, shirt, tie or cravat and shoes with socks." Women must wear: "dresses; or skirts or trousers (which may be cropped below the knee) or culottes, with blouses or smart tops, and formal shoes, boots or sandals."
The Lord’s Twitter handle wrote: “Due to the abnormally warm temperatures, MCC has decided to dispense with requirement for gentlemen to wear jackets in the Pavilion and arrive wearing one. This applies to Members of MCC and Middlesex and their guests.”
This led to quite some interesting banter on Twitter, with some rather bawdy jokes wondering if this was the end of the world. Temperatures in London touched 34 degree Celsius on Thursday afternoon.
One Twitter user called it ‘anarchy in the UK’, while another wondered if ‘hell had frozen over’.
According to its own website: “Founded in 1787, it has been recognised as the sole authority on the Laws of Cricket since its foundation and it moved to its current home at Lord’s in 1814. It remains, in the words of a former President, Plum Warner, “a private club with a public function.”
There are 18,000 Full and 5,500 Associate Members of MCC. Those Members own the Ground and all MCC’s assets (the most famous of which is the Ashes Urn), they govern the Club through various committees, and some 2,000 of them represent MCC on the field of play each year.
MCC plays more matches than any other cricket club – around 480 against schools, universities and clubs in the UK, and between 20 and 30 as part of its overseas touring programme which aims to develop cricket abroad.”
