MCC chiefs confident that Lord’s will continue to host two England Tests most summers

Home of cricket: Lord’s holds two Tests
Tom Shaw/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse17 May 2017

MCC chiefs remain hopeful Lord’s will continue to host two Test matches most summers, even if England play fewer five-day fixtures from 2020.

A report leaked on Wednesday indicates that the number of Tests played during the English summer will drop from seven to six as part of a media rights package that is also set to include two England Twenty20 matches per summer on free-to-air television.

In a seven-Test summer, Lord’s will continue to welcome both touring teams. Yet even if England play only six home Tests in the future, MCC bosses believe they have a strong enough case to stage a third of them.

An MCC spokesman told Standard Sport: “While we are never complacent, we are comfortable with the case we have made to hold two Tests per year at Lord’s.

“We have always had strong ticket sales for the matches here. England play a Test against West Indies here from September 7-11 and the first three days are already sold out. Lord’s remains a place where people want to watch cricket and a place where cricketers want to play. We have set out our case that we deserve two Tests per year and we hope that this remains the case in future.”

If Lord’s, which has welcomed 922,807 spectators through its doors for Tests in the past four years, did retain two Tests during six-Test summers, that would mean half of all Tests taking place in London, as The Kia Oval traditionally hosts England’s final home Test of the year.

Many in the county game welcome the return of cricket to free-to-air television — the report claims 10 matches from the new city-based Twenty20 competition would also be available to non-subscription viewers — but have reacted with interest to the news that so many of the 13 free-to-air matches will be drawn from the new competition.

Some county bosses wonder why the NatWest T20 Blast — where live games are available only on subscription television — has not been given similar exposure.

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