Cricket to become a private club

June 23, 2014

At its annual conference this week, the ICC is set to shed much of the inclusiveness it has strived for

at the global level in recent years, with India, England and Australia firmly at the helm...

Melbourne is something of a Mecca for private members clubs.

From the Melbourne Club and the Australian Club to the Kelvin Club :

the private meetings of well-heeled businessmen in wood-panelled dining rooms by open fires,

all members by invitation only, are part of the fabric of the city. 

On Albert Street in East Melbourne :

the United Grand Lodge of Victoria stares forbiddingly down towards the MCG

- who can forget that Sir Donald Bradman was himself a Freemason ?

The words of the Stonecutters' anthem immortalised by The Simpsons  :

Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do !

Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do, we do!</blockquote>

So it is entirely fitting that international cricket's redefinition as a private club :

will take place in the MCC Members Dining Room this week.