The Cowdrey Lecture, also referred to as the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, is an annual event organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's Cricket Ground.
The event was first hosted in 2001, following the death of its eponym Late Lord Colin Cowdrey, in December 2000. Colin Cowdrey is reported to have been instrumental in adapting the Captains' Charter as the Spirit of Cricket and subsequently adding it as the preamble to the Laws of Cricket.
It is held annually during the English summer and is delivered by pre-eminent cricketing personalities. The event is an invite only affair, with high-profile cricketing personalities, représentatives of cricketing boards and journalists in attendance. The format of the event is simple: the Cowdrey Lecture followed by an informal discussion/question-answer session with a panel of distinguished personalities.
List of all lectures till date + Cowdrey Lecturers, chronologically since inception.YearLecturerCountry of LecturerFlagKey MessagePanel2001Richie BenaudAustralia No known recording. Manuscript available on the Lord's official website.2002Barry RichardsSouth Africa2003Sunil GavaskarIndia2004Clive LloydWest Indies2005Geoffrey BoycottEngland2006Martin CroweNew Zealand2007Christopher Martin-JenkinsEngland2008Desmond Tutu*South AfricaRacism and sports, apartheid, impact of sports on politics, Spirit of Cricket2009Adam GilchristAustralia2010Imran KhanPakistanHis struggles to introduce neutral umpires in cricket2011Kumar Sangakkara*Sri LankaThe history of Sri Lankan cricket, Spirit of Cricket, socio-cultural impact of cricket.Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Holding, Andrew Strauss2012Tony GreigEngland2013Simon TaufelAustralia2014Sir Ian BothamEngland2015Rod MarshAustraliaMark Nicholas, Alastair Cook, Mahela Jayawardene2016Brendon McCullumNew ZealandRespecting the opposition, running out Muttiah Muralitharan, retirement, becoming test captain, the death of Phillip HughesMark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara, Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum2017Brian LaraWest IndiesMark Nicholas, Jonny Bairstow, Anya Shrubsole2018Dave RichardsonSouth AfricaSpirit of Cricket, Code of conduct, ball tampering incident of Newlands, Women's Cricket, Player penalties and punishments.Mark Nicholas, Dave Richardson, Sanjay Manjrekar, Jason Roy2019Mike Brearley EnglandSpirit of Cricket, the Mankad dismissal, what makes a good captain, the Cricket World Cup 2019Mark Nicholas, Shane Warne, Mike Brearley, Kumar Sangakkara2021Stephen FryEngland2023Andrew StraussEnglandAngus Fraser, Tammy Beaumont, Jonny Bairstow2024Stars of Tailenders podcastEngland2025Stars of Test Match SpecialEngland"[L]ight-hearted cricket discussion" * - Denotes Lecturers who received standing ovations from the audience.
Notable facts
Desmond Tutu and Stephen Fry are the only non cricketing personalities to have ever delivered a Cowdrey lecture. Desmond Tutu, Kumar Sangakkara and Stephen Fry are the only personalities to have received a standing ovation for their speech. Kumar Sangakkara was the first, and as of 2025, the only active international cricketer to deliver the Cowdrey lecture. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Lecturers by country +FlagCountryNumber of lecturersEngland7Australia4South Africa3New Zealand2West Indies2India1Pakistan1Sri Lanka1
See also International Cricket Council (ICC) ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
References