MCC denies talk of ‘revolt’ over Heyhoe Flint statue plan

LONDON: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) said on Thursday plans to install a permanent memorial to women’s cricket great Rachael Heyhoe Flint at its Lord’s headquarters have not sparked a reported membership “revolt”.

Clare Connor, who in October will become the first female president in MCC’s 234-year history, told an online forum on Tuesday she wanted the club to commemorate Heyhoe Flint by erecting a statue or naming one of the gates at its Lord’s to acknowledge her fellow former England women’s captain.

Heyhoe Flint was the driving force behind the inaugural women’s World Cup in 1973, leading England to the title two years before the equivalent men’s tournament was first played.

She was also instrumental in MCC’s decision to admit women members for the first time in 1998.

But newspaper The Times, in a piece headlined “Lord’s revolt over Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the queen of cricket” quoted the views of two members opposed to the plans.

Mark Peel, a cricket author said the move was “misguided” and smacked of “gesture politics”, while lawyer Robert Griffiths added: “Diversity is one thing but a statue or gate has to be named on merit.”

Connor, however, said the pair’s opinions were not representative of the club’s 18,500-strong membership.

While the Grace Gates at the main entrance to Lord’s honour 19th Century cricket pioneer and England great WG Grace, no female cricketer is similary honoured at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

MCC chief executive Guy Lavender, in a statement issued Thursday, said the club were considering further ways to commemorate Heyhoe Flint’s “considerable achievements” in addition to the portrait currently on display in the pavilion. He added suggestions this had sparked a revolt were “highly misleading”. Heyhoe Flint died in 2017 at the age of 77.