Sangakkara to give Cowdrey Lecture

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been chosen to deliver this year's MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's

MCC have confirmed that former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will deliver the 11th MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on July 4.

The wicketkeeper-batsman will become the first Sri Lankan and the first current international cricketer to speak at the annual event, which takes place the day after the third NatWest Series one-day international between England and Sri Lanka.

Sangakkara will also take over from 2009 speaker Adam Gilchrist as the youngest man to deliver the lecture.

The MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture was inaugurated in 2001 in memory of the late Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, a past president of MCC, who – together with another former club president, Ted Dexter – was instrumental in the Spirit of Cricket being included as the preamble to the 2000 Code of the Laws of Cricket.

Previous speakers have included Geoffrey Boycott, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and, most recently, Imran Khan.

Current MCC president Christopher Martin-Jenkins said: “Sri Lanka have been so consistently successful in world cricket that it is very appropriate that a distinguished cricketer from this beautiful country should be giving the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture.

“Kumar Sangakkara is widely respected in cricket not only as a brilliant player but as a highly intelligent one. His views on topical matters will be truly illuminating and many people will be looking forward to hearing what he has to say.”

Sangakkara has enjoyed a distinguished international career spanning more than 10 years and currently averages over 57 with the bat in Test matches.

Earlier this year he led Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup and also finished as the tournament’s third-highest run-scorer before resigning as skipper.