Cambridge University v Oxford University Varsity match axed from Lord's over sexism row

It has been on the cricket calendar for nearly 200 years - but the traditional Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Cricket Match will soon be no more.

The fixture has been played every summer since 1827 but the hierarchy at the home of cricket have now decided it must come to an end.

The decision by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) which owns the ground follows a demonstration outside the Grace Gates before the Varsity match at Lord’s last year.

Stump Out Sexism called on the MCC to cancel the annual Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge on the main ground until the universities agreed to play a women’s match there too.

This summer there will instead be Oxford vs Cambridge Twenty20 matches for both men and women on the same day in June.

But the traditional Varsity match - already reduced from four days to one - will not be played.

The MCC said it wanted to give more teams the opportunity to play at the home of the game. As a result, more finals from all levels of cricket will be added to the Lords schedule.

With The Hundred and T20 fixtures for Middlesex added in, suddenly the fixture list looks busier than ever.

But that has not been enough to appease the traditionalists with many MCC members and others within the game "dismayed" at what has happened.

Among them is the legendary Norfolk commentator and pundit Henry Blofeld, who played in the match himself.

He said: “I suppose the ‘antis’ will be cheering and people like me will be sad. But it is inevitable with the way that society has moved.”

For the commentator, there has been a double disappointment. The Eton v Harrow Public School match which he also played in and that dates back even further to 1805 has also bitten the dust.

Cambridge University Cricket Club said in a statement: "CUCC is grateful for the opportunity to play the 2022 T20 Varsity matches at Lord's and enthusiastically welcomes the MCC decision to make way in following seasons for a wider range of people to realise their ambition of playing at Lord's, which chimes with the university's own ambitions on widening access and participation."

The Cambridge v Oxford four-day men's match will carry on. It is still played at Fenners in Cambridge and The Parks in Oxford with the venue alternating every other year.

The 2022 fixture is in Oxford starting on 4 July.

Among the famous names to have played in the Varsity match are Colin Cowdrey and Imran Khan for Oxford, and Ted Dexter, Mike Atherton and Mike Brearley for Cambridge.