Usman Khawaja and David Warner stopped to protest to their supporters in the long room. Photo: SKY SPORTS CRICKET
Marylebone Cricket Club has permanently expelled one member and given long-term bans to two others for insulting the Australian team at Lord's Pavilion following Jonny Bairstow's controversial display at the Ashes this summer.
On the tense final day of the second Test, Bairstow was stumped by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey when he ran out of his crease in the mistaken belief that Cameron Green's over was over and the ball was dead.
This angered the usually calm Lord's crowd. , who loudly booed and accused the Australians of violating the spirit of cricket and, worse, cheating. The commotion spread to the Pavilion, where Australia's players were booed as they returned to the dressing room at lunchtime. Australia's official statement states that the abuse was not only verbal, but also physical.
Usman Khawaja was pulled away by security after talking with one of the participants in a long room 😳
🗣️ “I have NEVER seen such scenes!” pic.twitter.com/2RnjiNssfw
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 2, 2023
Footage has gone viral showing batsmen Usman Khawaja and David Warner stopping to protest fans in the Long Room and reserve batsman Matt Renshaw, who played no role in the series, laughing at the contestants on the stairs.
MCC chief executive Guy Lavender was forced to take the unusual step of addressing the Long Room in an attempt to quell the unrest, and then «unreservedly apologized» to the Australians while confirming a suspension pending an investigation into three members. The following week, club chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said the scenes were «a disgrace to the MCC» and banned club members from standing on the stairs used by players to get to and from the pitch.
More footage of MCC members booing the Aussies with the kind of viciousness usually reserved for when someone cuts off Bree's nose to the treasurer pic.twitter.com/VckbN60t9Z
— The Upshot (@UpshotTowers) July 2, 2023
Now that the investigation has concluded, Lavender, a former lieutenant colonel in the Parachute Regiment, wrote to club members on Thursday acknowledging that while «a wider group of members were guilty of breaching the club's Code of Conduct», the investigation and appeal process had concluded. ended up in a disqualified trio.
One participant was disqualified for life, another for four and a half years, and the third for 30 months. MCC declined to name the participants, but it is known that they are all men. All three were found guilty of «offensive, insulting or inappropriate conduct or remarks» and «each case was of a seriousness commensurate with the highest level of culpability» according to the MCC Sentencing Guidelines.
“Details of the disciplinary process are confidential and the Club does not intend to publish the names of the three individuals sanctioned,” Lavender said. «While it is clear that a wider group of members were guilty of breaching the Club's Code of Conduct on 2 July, the Club's investigation has so far been unable to identify additional individuals for onward referral to the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee.»< /p>
Cricket Australia welcomed the news, saying that: “We are grateful for the MCC's support for the team at the time and for these subsequent sanctions. We trust that this brings closure to the matter and that this type of behavior will not be repeated in the future.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins said after the incident that he expected to lose his membership as a result. Khawaja called it «disrespectful.»
«Some of the things that came out of the participants' mouths were really disappointing,» he said. «I wasn't going to just stand by and deal with it, so I just talked to some of them.
» Some of them made some pretty serious allegations, and I just called them about it.
“To be honest, it was pretty disrespectful. I expected more from the members.”
MCC membership is considered one of the most sought after in sports. There is a waiting list for full membership that spans over 20 years, with a total of approximately 18,000 full members and 5,000 associate members. The MCC was founded in 1787, has been based at Lord's since 1814 and remains the guardian of the laws of the game.
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