Bicentenary Celebration match

The Bicentenary Celebration match was a 50-over exhibition cricket match played on 5 July 2014 at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, to mark the 200th anniversary of the ground, which was first used in 1814 and is considered the "home of cricket".[1][2] The match was contested by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), for whom Lord's is their home ground, and a Rest of the World team.[3] The MCC team won the match by seven wickets, with Aaron Finch being named man of the match for his score of 181*.[4][5]

Bicentenary Celebration Match
Rest of the
World XI
Marylebone
Cricket Club
293/7 296/3
50 overs 45.5 overs
Date5 July 2014
VenueLord's, London
Player of the matchAaron Finch (MCC)
Umpires

A previous 200th anniversary celebration match took place at Lord's in 1987, also between MCC and the Rest of the World, on the occasion of the bicentenary of Marylebone Cricket Club.[6]

Squads edit

 
Brian Lara, batting for MCC, before the match, in a warm-up game against Hertfordshire.
MCC ROW

Match edit

Summary edit

Rest of the World captain Shane Warne won the toss and elected to bat. Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag gave the ROW a quick start. The MCC's Pakistani bowler Umar Gul suffered a recurrence of a right knee injury, which meant he only bowled two overs before leaving the field. Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal was introduced during the power play and he struck immediately, removing Gilchrist, Kevin Pietersen, Tamim Iqbal and Shahid Afridi. However, this was then followed by a century stand between Yuvraj Singh and Paul Collingwood. Singh eventually scored a century as his late assault took the total to 293. Warne suffered a broken hand from the bowling of Brett Lee.[7] Warne was replaced in the field by South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock.[8] The MCC started well with both Sachin Tendulkar and Aaron Finch batting positively. Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan removed Tendulkar before Collingwood was able to dismiss Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid off consecutive deliveries. Finch along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul then took MCC home with Finch scoring 181 not out.

Details edit

5 July 2014
10:45
Scorecard
Rest of the World XI
293/7 (50 overs)
v
Marylebone Cricket Club
296/3 (45.5 overs)
Yuvraj Singh 132 (134)
Saeed Ajmal 4/45 (10 overs)
Aaron Finch 181* (145)
Paul Collingwood 2/25 (7 overs)
MCC won by 7 wickets
Lord's, London
Umpires: Ian Gould (Eng) and Richard Kettleborough (Eng)
Player of the match: Aaron Finch (MCC)
  • Rest of the World XI won the toss and elected to bat

Controversy edit

During commentary, former England cricketer Andrew Strauss described Kevin Pietersen as "a cunt" in what he believed to be an off-air conversation. While the comment did not go out on Sky Sports, it was broadcast to overseas viewers.[9][10] Strauss later said "I apologise unreservedly, particularly to Kevin Pietersen. I am mortified and profusely sorry."[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "Tendulkar, Warne captains in Lord's bicentenary match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Sachin Tendulkar Savours Brian Lara Partnership in Lord's Bicentenary". NDTV. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  3. ^ "MCC v Rest of the World – 5 July". Lord's. 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Cricket – MCC vs RoW: Finch shines among stars in Lord's bicentenary". Deccan Chronicle. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Lord's bicentenary: Finch hits 181 in MCC win". Go Cricket. 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  6. ^ Mukherjee, Abhishek (20 August 2014). "MCC Bicentennial match: Gavaskar signs off with a hundred at Lord's". Cricket Country. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Shane Warne's hand broken by Brett Lee in Lord's exhibition". BBC Sport. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  8. ^ "MCC v RoW: Shane Warne suffers broken hand in Lord's celebration match". Sky Sports. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Strauss 'mortified' at Pietersen slur". ESPN Cricinfo. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Andrew Strauss 'mortified' and 'profusely sorry' after he calls Kevin Pietersen a 'c**t' live on air". The Independent. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Kevin Pietersen: Andrew Strauss apologises after offensive remark". BBC Sport. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.