Cowdrey Lecture
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The Cowdrey Lecture, also referred to as the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, is an annual event organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's Cricket Ground.
The event was first hosted in 2001, following the death of its eponym Late Lord Colin Cowdrey, in December 2000. Colin Cowdrey is reported to have been instrumental in adapting the Captains' Charter as the Spirit of Cricket and subsequently adding it as the preamble to the Laws of Cricket.[1]
It is held annually during the English summer and is delivered by pre-eminent cricketing personalities. The event is an invite only affair, with high-profile cricketing personalities, représentatives of cricketing boards and journalists in attendance. The format of the event is simple: the Cowdrey Lecture followed by an informal discussion/question-answer session with a panel of distinguished personalities.[1]
List of all lectures till date
[edit]| Year | Lecturer | Country of Lecturer | Flag | Key Message | Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Richie Benaud | Australia |  | No known recording. Manuscript available on the Lord's official website. | |
| 2002 | Barry Richards | South Africa |  | ||
| 2003 | Sunil Gavaskar | India |  | ||
| 2004 | Clive Lloyd | West Indies |  | ||
| 2005 | Geoffrey Boycott | England |  | ||
| 2006 | Martin Crowe | New Zealand |  | ||
| 2007 | Christopher Martin-Jenkins | England | | ||
| 2008 | Desmond Tutu*[2] | South Africa | | Racism and sports, apartheid, impact of sports on politics, Spirit of Cricket | |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | Australia | | ||
| 2010 | Imran Khan | Pakistan |  | His struggles to introduce neutral umpires in cricket | |
| 2011 | Kumar Sangakkara*[3] | Sri Lanka |  | The history of Sri Lankan cricket, Spirit of Cricket, socio-cultural impact of cricket. | Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Holding, Andrew Strauss |
| 2012 | Tony Greig | England | | ||
| 2013 | Simon Taufel | Australia | | ||
| 2014 | Sir Ian Botham | England | | ||
| 2015 | Rod Marsh | Australia | | Mark Nicholas, Alastair Cook, Mahela Jayawardene | |
| 2016 | Brendon McCullum[4] | New Zealand | | Respecting the opposition,[5] running out Muttiah Muralitharan,[6] retirement,[7] becoming test captain,[8] the death of Phillip Hughes[9] | Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum |
| 2017 | Brian Lara | West Indies | | Mark Nicholas, Jonny Bairstow, Anya Shrubsole | |
| 2018 | Dave Richardson | South Africa | | Spirit of Cricket, Code of conduct, ball tampering incident of Newlands, Women's Cricket, Player penalties and punishments. | Mark Nicholas, Dave Richardson, Sanjay Manjrekar, Jason Roy |
| 2019 | Mike Brearley | England | | Spirit of Cricket, the Mankad dismissal, what makes a good captain, the Cricket World Cup 2019 | Mark Nicholas, Shane Warne, Mike Brearley, Kumar Sangakkara |
| 2021 | Stephen Fry | England | | ||
| 2023 | Andrew Strauss | England | | Angus Fraser, Tammy Beaumont, Jonny Bairstow | |
| 2024 | Stars of Tailenders podcast | England | | ||
| 2025 | Stars of Test Match Special | England | | "[L]ight-hearted cricket discussion"[10] |
* - Denotes Lecturers who received standing ovations from the audience.
Notable facts
[edit]- Desmond Tutu and Stephen Fry are the only non cricketing personalities to have ever delivered a Cowdrey lecture.[2]
- Desmond Tutu, Kumar Sangakkara and Stephen Fry are the only personalities to have received a standing ovation for their speech.[3][2]
- Kumar Sangakkara was the first, and as of 2025, the only active international cricketer to deliver the Cowdrey lecture.
- The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
Lecturers by country
[edit]| Flag | Country | Number of lecturers |
|---|---|---|
| England | 7 |
| Australia | 4 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| West Indies | 2 |
| India | 1 |
| Pakistan | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture". Lord's. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Archbishop Desmond Tutu gets standing ovation after cricket lecture". www.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ a b "SANGAKKARA AND THE SPIRIT OF CRICKET". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "The Brendon McCullum 2016 Cowdrey Lecture Transcript". www.sportsfreak.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on respecting the opposition | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on running out Murali | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on retirement | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum part 2 - Becoming Test captain & New Zealand cricket | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum part 3 - The death of Phil Hughes | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "BBC's Test Match Special stars to host 2025 MCC Cowdrey Lecture | Lord's". www.lords.org. 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Cowdrey Lecture | MCC". www.lords.org. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
| Part of a series on |
| Cricket |
|---|
 |
| Women's cricket |
| Records |
The Cowdrey Lecture, also referred to as the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, is an annual event organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's Cricket Ground.
The event was first hosted in 2001, following the death of its eponym Late Lord Colin Cowdrey, in December 2000. Colin Cowdrey is reported to have been instrumental in adapting the Captains' Charter as the Spirit of Cricket and subsequently adding it as the preamble to the Laws of Cricket.[1]
It is held annually during the English summer and is delivered by pre-eminent cricketing personalities. The event is an invite only affair, with high-profile cricketing personalities, représentatives of cricketing boards and journalists in attendance. The format of the event is simple: the Cowdrey Lecture followed by an informal discussion/question-answer session with a panel of distinguished personalities.[1]
List of all lectures till date
| Year | Lecturer | Country of Lecturer | Flag | Key Message | Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Richie Benaud | Australia | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png){kind=small} | No known recording. Manuscript available on the Lord's official website. | |
| 2002 | Barry Richards | South Africa |  | ||
| 2003 | Sunil Gavaskar | India |  | ||
| 2004 | Clive Lloyd | West Indies |  | ||
| 2005 | Geoffrey Boycott | England |  | ||
| 2006 | Martin Crowe | New Zealand |  | ||
| 2007 | Christopher Martin-Jenkins | England | | ||
| 2008 | Desmond Tutu*[2] | South Africa | | Racism and sports, apartheid, impact of sports on politics, Spirit of Cricket | |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | Australia | | ||
| 2010 | Imran Khan | Pakistan |  | His struggles to introduce neutral umpires in cricket | |
| 2011 | Kumar Sangakkara*[3] | Sri Lanka |  | The history of Sri Lankan cricket, Spirit of Cricket, socio-cultural impact of cricket. | Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Holding, Andrew Strauss |
| 2012 | Tony Greig | England | | ||
| 2013 | Simon Taufel | Australia | | ||
| 2014 | Sir Ian Botham | England | | ||
| 2015 | Rod Marsh | Australia | | Mark Nicholas, Alastair Cook, Mahela Jayawardene | |
| 2016 | Brendon McCullum[4] | New Zealand | | Respecting the opposition,[5] running out Muttiah Muralitharan,[6] retirement,[7] becoming test captain,[8] the death of Phillip Hughes[9] | Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum |
| 2017 | Brian Lara | West Indies | | Mark Nicholas, Jonny Bairstow, Anya Shrubsole | |
| 2018 | Dave Richardson | South Africa | | Spirit of Cricket, Code of conduct, ball tampering incident of Newlands, Women's Cricket, Player penalties and punishments. | Mark Nicholas, Dave Richardson, Sanjay Manjrekar, Jason Roy |
| 2019 | Mike Brearley | England | | Spirit of Cricket, the Mankad dismissal, what makes a good captain, the Cricket World Cup 2019 | Mark Nicholas, Shane Warne, Mike Brearley, Kumar Sangakkara |
| 2021 | Stephen Fry | England | | ||
| 2023 | Andrew Strauss | England | | Angus Fraser, Tammy Beaumont, Jonny Bairstow | |
| 2024 | Stars of Tailenders podcast | England | | ||
| 2025 | Stars of Test Match Special | England | | "[L]ight-hearted cricket discussion"[10] |
* - Denotes Lecturers who received standing ovations from the audience.
Notable facts
- Desmond Tutu and Stephen Fry are the only non cricketing personalities to have ever delivered a Cowdrey lecture.[2]
- Desmond Tutu, Kumar Sangakkara and Stephen Fry are the only personalities to have received a standing ovation for their speech.[3][2]
- Kumar Sangakkara was the first, and as of 2025, the only active international cricketer to deliver the Cowdrey lecture.
- The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
Lecturers by country
| Flag | Country | Number of lecturers |
|---|---|---|
| England | 7 |
| Australia | 4 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| West Indies | 2 |
| India | 1 |
| Pakistan | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture". Lord's. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Archbishop Desmond Tutu gets standing ovation after cricket lecture". www.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ a b "SANGAKKARA AND THE SPIRIT OF CRICKET". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "The Brendon McCullum 2016 Cowdrey Lecture Transcript". www.sportsfreak.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on respecting the opposition | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on running out Murali | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum on retirement | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum part 2 - Becoming Test captain & New Zealand cricket | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Brendon McCullum part 3 - The death of Phil Hughes | 2016 Cowdrey Lecture. Lord's Cricket Ground. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "BBC's Test Match Special stars to host 2025 MCC Cowdrey Lecture | Lord's". www.lords.org. 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Cowdrey Lecture | MCC". www.lords.org. Retrieved 30 September 2021.