MCC member kicked out of exclusive club for clashing with Australian players during Ashes at Lord’s

An MCC member has lost their membership permanently, with two more suspended, for their actions during the final day of the Ashes Test match at Lord’s.

Jonny Bairstow was controversially run out by Alex Carey shortly before the lunch interval, which sparked boos from the crowd of almost 32,000, and cries of “same old Aussies always cheating” but some in the Long Room stepped over the line.

As the Australian players left the field to a barrage of abuse, video footage showed Usman Khawaja and David Warner stopping to confront MCC members in the Long Room as the Australian batters took offence at comments from the men in question.

Security guards then had to step between Khawaja and the MCC members, before shepherding the player towards the dressing room.

The actions did not stop there, however, but continued up the stairs, with Australian press reporting that some members of the team were even tripped on their way to the players’ dining room.

The MCC apologised at the time and condemned the behaviour but after an investigation has released the sanctions on three individuals.

The date of the incident was 2 July 2023, and all three charges were for abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language, which according to the MCC carries a charge at the low end of 12 months to three years suspension and at the higher end three years to expulsion.

One individual faced expulsion for the charge, another a four-and-a-half-year suspension, and a third was suspended for 30 months.

The MCC has also acknowledged that a wider group of members were guilty of breaching the club’s code of conduct on the date but that the club has not been able to identify other individuals for referral to the disciplinary panel.

The details of the individual offences and the names will not be made public.

It was an incident which sparked backlash across the world, with both prime ministers weighing in on the debate as well as a fierce debate in the media.

Speaking after the day’s play, which saw Australia take a 2-0 lead in the series, Pat Cummins said: “I think they were just quite aggressive and abusive towards some of our players, which I know the MCC were not too happy with.”