The MCC Foundation, the charitable arm of MCC, broke a World Record earlier this week for the longest continuous indoor cricket match.
Two teams made up of players from the Cross Arrows Cricket Club, a team which usually plays its games on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s, played indoor cricket in the MCC Cricket Academy for 31 hours, 27 minutes and 12 seconds, surpassing the current Guinness World record which stands at 25 hours and 59 minutes.
The match began at 10.00am on Sunday and eventually finished close to 5.30pm on Monday afternoon, with the same players taking part throughout the challenge and only being permitted a five-minute break per hour.
The teams played 25 matches against each other, a total of 50 innings, and there were 5,234 runs scored in all. Umpires, scorers and witnesses all undertook their duties for four hours at a time.
The event was held to raise money for the MCC Foundation, which was founded in 1993. Since 2011, it has been growing a network of Cricket Hubs across the UK to provide free cricket coaching for state-educated children aged 11 to 15.
Ricky Reynolds, Community Development Manager for MCC, who took part in the event said: “We knew it was going to be a test for all of us, but to finish the challenge together has been brilliant. There were some really difficult moments throughout the 31 hours, but we’ve worked together and got through it.
“The work that the MCC Foundation do is providing cricketing opportunities for the less fortunate. If this event can get people engaged with what the Foundation does and what we do at MCC in terms of growing the game, then it will have been a major success.”
Sammy Love, Operations Executive for the MCC Foundation and the event organiser said: “The teams have done a phenomenal job and maintained such positive energy throughout, despite the exhausting nature of this attempt.
“I’m really proud of the effort they’ve put in to help us raise awareness of the work we’re doing at the MCC Foundation to widen access to cricket, specifically among those in state-education.”