The first ever match played between Durham School and the M.C.C was 33 years ago in May 1988 and the fixture has taken place every year since.
The M.C.C play matches against school teams throughout the year with the aim of developing the next generation of cricketers. We have a few Old Dunelmians playing against our 1st team today, one of them is James Ritzema, who is the captain for the M.C.C.
James Ritzema said, “I think we had so many opportunities as kids and it has shaped a lot of what we’ve done since. It's very important to give those same opportunities back and keep that development going.”
The M.C.C was founded by Thomas Lord in 1787 and today has 18,000 full and 5,000 associate members. Aside from playing schools, the club also play against universities, and other clubs around the UK; including some matches overseas.
Playing alongside James is Sam Taylor-Gell who is also an Old Dunelmian.
Sam said:
It is always good to be back at Durham School and it is always a great occasion, coming back to the M.C.C as well. Unfortunately, we can’t have the sit-down meal that we do each year. I’m really looking forward to the day and to bumping into a few old teachers and old faces.
When asked about his favourite memory from school, Sam said:
It was playing against Sedbergh in my final year and we had a good group. It was a very young group too, with about five or six players who were not in the Sixth Form. We really made an effort for the entire year to train hard and work towards that one game. In the end, everyone turned up, we played Sedbergh and beat them. So, it was a wonderful end to Durham School life and yeah, it was brilliant.
