Middlesex’s future at Lord’s is in doubt with the club having failed to secure a long-term extension of a tenancy agreement with the MCC that expires this year.
The Guardian has learned that after months of negotiations with the ground’s owners, Middlesex are close to agreeing a 12-month contract that will ensure most of their matches are played at the home of cricket next summer, but the club’s long-term future is uncertain.
Middlesex’s two previous leases with MCC were for five years, with a 12-month deal raising eyebrows among staff at both clubs given the 13-times county champions have been tenants at Lord’s since 1864.
While a short-term agreement is has been reached as an emergency measure there is concern on both sides that the current arrangements may not suit either party, as has been reflected in the lengthy negotiations.
Middlesex have been troubled by a number of governance and financial problems in recent years, with senior figures at MCC believed to have expressed concerns about the way the county is run. There is also understood to be tension between some of the senior figures at both clubs.
The ECB fined Middlesex £50,000 and gave them a suspended points deduction after finding them guilty of breaching financial regulations last September, while earlier this summer the club were charged with improper conduct by the newly formed Cricket Regulator. A disciplinary hearing is understood to have taken place last month with Middlesex denying the charges.
“Every time Middlesex are in the newspapers there is a photograph of Lord’s so there is a danger of reputational damage by association,” an MCC source told The Guardian.
The Middlesex chief executive, Andrew Cornish, went public with his club’s concerns in April in an interview with the Sunday Times, in which he raised the prospect of the county moving to a new ground in north west London, although he later clarified his comments by releasing a statement saying it would not happen “any time soon.”
Middlsex’s financial position has improved since Cornish took over in 2021, and they posted their first profit since 2016 this year of £131,000, although that was largely due to cost-cutting measures that have had a significant affect on performance.
The club did not employ any overseas players this summer and were relegated to Division Two of the County Championship on the final day of the season last weekend. The financial cuts appear set to continue, however, with the opening batter Mark Stoneman released last week and Middlesex not planning to recruit overseas players next season.
With Middlesex struggling on and off the field the details of the existing agreement, under which MCC pay their tenants several hundred thousand pounds-a-year to play at Lord’s in return for keeping match-day revenue, are also being reviewed.
Having charged Middlesex rent and given the club gate receipts for almost 150 years the two parties flipped the arrangement by signing a unique five-year deal in 2015, which was subsequently extended for another five years.
Middlesex’s crowds for T20 Blast matches have declined significantly in recent years however, while this season two of their games were moved to Chelmsford, which has affected the MCC’s revenue. More Middlesex Blast games could be moved elsewhere next season due to the demand from other clubs to play at Lord’s.
MCC sources insist they want Middlesex to stay at Lord’s, but have opted to give themselves more time to do so. Another factor that has influenced the delay is the fact that MCC are undergoing a period of significant change, with a new chief executive to be appointed by the end of the year to replace Guy Lavender, who is leaving to become chief executive of the Jockey Club.
Former Hampshire captain Mark Nicholas formally took over as MCC Chair on 1 October having spent the last 12 months as the club’s president. The former Bank of England governor Mervyn King is replacing Nicholas in that role.
The ongoing Hundred sales process is another complicating factor as MCC are likely to have a new partner at Lords’ next year. The London Spirit is viewed as the most attractive of the eight franchises which the ECB are selling 49% of, with Mumbai Indians’ owners the Ambani Family expected to make an unbeatable bid.
MCC and Middlesex declined to comment.
