MCC invest in University cricket

8 April 2005

MCC has announced that it is to invest almost £1.2million over the next three years in the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence.

The six centres, at Cambridge, Cardiff/Glamorgan, Durham, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford, will each receive £65,000 per annum and will be known as MCC Universities for the duration of the investment.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) introduced the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence in October 2000 to provide talented and aspiring young cricketers who wish to further their education with unrivalled opportunities to develop their cricket at university.

MCC has now become the sole source of external funding of the initiative. ECB will no longer contribute financially, but will continue to have an input in the scheduling of fixtures and umpire allocation, as well as appointing a Performance Manager to the MCC Advisory Panel which will monitor the programme.

MCC's chairman of cricket, Tony Lewis, said: "The MCC Universities give young players the ability to further their cricket careers without compromising their education; in fact, they will be able to do both to a very high standard.

“For example, the Durham scheme has already produced players of the calibre of Andrew Strauss, James Foster and Caroline Atkins, all of whom have gone on to play for England.

“We hope that, with increased funding over the next three years, more talented young players will emerge from university cricket and make the transition to the professional game."