MCC Universities compete for Twenty20 crown

18 June 2008

Eight universities will be pitting their wits against each other in the first ever MCC Universities Twenty20 tournament which begins in Durham on 23rd June.

 

Twenty20 cricket has never been more popular or had more profile around the world and the players of the six MCC Universities – Cambridge, Cardiff/Glamorgan, Durham, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford – as well as teams from Exeter and Bristol/UWE, will be hoping to stroke, sweep and spin their way to victory during the 10-match, 2-day tournament. Two former England players – Graham Dilley and Graeme Fowler – will be hoping to coach their respective teams Loughborough and Durham to victory.

 

Alongside the coloured clothing there will be a coloured ball. The players will be experimenting with a pink – rather than white – ball, which MCC believes has better visability at the end of an innings because it is less likely to pick up green colouring from the grass or become murky. Several manufacturers have been helping MCC with its pink ball trial and the players will use a pink ball produced by Dukes for the MCC Universities Twenty20 tournament. The sightscreens will be black.

John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket who will be attending the tournament, said: “MCC is extremely committed to university cricket and we hope this tournament will provide both entertainment for the spectators as well as valuable practice in the short format for the players. The results we’ve had from using the pink ball in limited overs matches have been very positive so far and this is an ideal opportunity for the next generation of players to play with it. We are looking forward to two days of competitive, exciting cricket.”

 

The tournament will be played at Durham University’s Racecourse Ground and Maiden Castle. Two sets of three games will take place simultaneously on 23rd June at 10.00, 13.15 and 16.30. The final will take place at 13.15 on 24th June at the Racecourse Ground.