MCC told to ‘stop being silly’ after resistance to Rachel Heyhoe Flint memorial

Rachael Heyhoe Flint played 22 Tests for England between 1960 and 1979. In 1973, she devised and established the first Cricket World Cup – a women's event that preceded the first men's tournament by two years.

Marylebone Cricket Club has faced criticism from leading cricketers, including Heather Knight, the current England women’s team captain, and Michael Vaughan, a former England men’s team captain, after reports of resistance from sections of the male-dominated club against a proposal to erect a memorial to Rachael Heyhoe Flint, a luminary of women’s cricket, at Lord’s.

Baroness Heyhoe Flint, who died in 2017 at the age of 77, played 22 Tests for England between 1960 and 1979. In 1973, she devised and established the first Cricket World Cup – a women’s event that preceded the first men’s tournament by two years.

“I think it would be misguided to erect a statue,” MCC member and author Mark Peel was quoted as saying in The Times. “It would put everything out of proportion. To compare like with like – men’s and women’s cricket – is plain wrong,” he said.

“Come on MCC move with the times,” Heather Knight wrote on Twitter. “Women’s cricket in England owes everything to Rachael and she invented the World Cup, without even mentioning her playing career #GetRachaelAStatue.”

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