MCC eject Lord's member after latter sledges Steve Smith in famed Long Room
For the very first time, the MCC ejected one of its members after he sledged Steve Smith in the Long Room of the pavilion during the second Ashes Test at Lord's. The said incident took place on Saturday when Smith was returning back to the pavilion after being dismissed for 92 in the first innings.
After Steve Smith was taken off of the ground suffering a concussion, fans' heart skipped a beat in the prospect of the injury to his neck. However, everything seemed to come back to normal when the former Aussie skipper came out to bat once again. He was never the same though and was only able to add 12 runs thereafter, before being dismissed on 92.
On his long walk back to the pavilion, an unidentified member called the former Australian skipper a "cheat and a disgrace". After taking stock of the proceedings, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) ejected the member. As reported by Sydney Morning Herald, it is the first time a member has been thrown out of the Lord's pavilion as a result of misconduct.
Prospective MCC members must sit on an 18-year waiting list to join and at the club's AGM earlier this year a code of conduct was introduced to stamp out poor behaviour. Earlier, during the Test, the boos from the crowd were roundly condemned by commentators including Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan, Mark Taylor, and Ian Healy.
The Australian Cricketers’ Association also issued a statement condemning the booing of an injured player, calling it "unwelcome and incorrect" and that cricket, and Lord’s, "deserves much better than that".Â