MCC is investing almost £1.2million over three years from 2005 in the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence.

The six centres - at Cambridge, Cardiff/Glamorgan, Durham, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford - will each receive £65,000 per annum and will be known as MCC Universities for the duration of the investment.

The ECB introduced the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence in October 2000 to provide talented and aspiring young cricketers who wish to further their education with unrivalled opportunities to develop their cricket at university.

MCC has now become the sole source of external funding of the initiative. ECB will no longer contribute financially, but will continue to have an input in the scheduling of fixtures and umpire allocation, as well as appointing a Performance Manager to the MCC Advisory Panel which will monitor the programme.

MCC’s Chairman of Cricket, Tony Lewis, said: “The MCC Universities give young players the ability to further their cricket careers without compromising their education; in fact, they will be able to do both to a very high standard.

"For example, the Durham scheme has already produced players of the calibre of Andrew Strauss, James Foster and Caroline Atkins, all of whom have gone on to play for England.

"We hope that, with increased funding over the next three years, more talented young players will emerge from university cricket and make the transition to the professional game.”

Cricketers at the university centres will be encouraged to become Playing Members of MCC and represent the Club in out-matches and on overseas tours. Indeed, Mark Phythian, a member of the Durham UCCE, travelled to Namibia and Uganda with the MCC tour in February 2005.

An MCC-produced prospectus, which lists the academic institutions involved in the MCC Universities, together with information on how to apply, is now available from the MCC Cricket Office:

Email cricket.office@mcc.org.uk

Telephone 020 7616 8605

Further info:

The MCC website also carries information on MCC Universities matches.

You can find scorecards from MCC Universities matches against first class counties on ecb.co.uk