MCC expels one member and suspends two over Lord's Long Room incident

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord's and sets cricket's laws, announced on 26 July 2023 that it had expelled one member and suspended two others. The action followed an investigation into behaviour towards Australian players in the Long Room, the pavilion's historic members-only hall, during the second Ashes Test.

The incident took place on 2 July 2023, the final day of the match. Tempers ran high after England's Jonny Bairstow was stumped by Australia's Alex Carey, a dismissal many English supporters considered unsporting. As the Australian players walked through the Long Room, members were reported to have shouted abuse at them. Video of the confrontation circulated widely, and the players involved included David Warner and Usman Khawaja.

The MCC had suspended three members straight away while it investigated, and it apologised to the Australian team. The club did not publicly name those disciplined. The outcome mattered because it showed that the club was prepared to punish its own members, in a pavilion long associated with tradition and decorum. It also drew attention to how spectators behaved towards visiting players.