Sir John Major Quits from MCC Committee after Lords Development Disagreement

Former British Prime Minister Sir John Major has resigned from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) club committee, after having a disagreement with the rest of the panel over the Vision for Lord’s project.

“For me, cricket has been a lifelong and enduring passion and it will remain so. The solace the game has given me in good times and bad, the friendships I have made, and the sheer joy of the game will never fade,” he told The Telegraph.

“My decision to resign from the committee of the world’s pre-eminent cricket club has been reached with very great sadness and I wish other members of the committee well in their future deliberations,” he added.

The move by the likes of Major comes as a setback for the MCC.

An MCC statement said it had accepted his resignation, which was “due to fundamental disagreements over the direction of policy on the Vision for Lord’s; the manner in which decisions have been reached, and their wider implications for the club”.

It also acknowledged Major’s contributions to the committee.

Major had been member of the MCC’s development sub- committee, which was re- developing the Lord’s as a majorcricket venue.

The £400 million ($620.6m) plan was floated in 2007 to increase Lord’s capacity with new stands at the Nursery End of the ground.

But the cost of the plan was reduced to £100 million ($155.5m), and the committee dissolved since MCC Chairperson Oliver Stocken adopted a cautious line of approach in the wake of recession.

But the decision to scrap the committee did not go down well with Major, who was in favour of strong development subcommittee.

Former Kiwi Test cricketer Martin Snedden is likely to succeed Major.

To vent your thoughts on this issue go to our latest discussion: Was Sir John Major right to resign from the MCC committee?