2019 Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches

2019 Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches
Dates26 March 2019 (2019-03-26) – 7 April 2019 (2019-04-07)
Administrator(s)England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket formatFirst-class
← 2018
2020 →

The 2019 Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches were a series of cricket matches that were played between the eighteen County Championship teams and the six Marylebone Cricket Club University teams (MCCU) of England and Wales.[1] The first two rounds of fixtures were classed as first-class matches.[2] Each county side played one fixture against an MCCU side ahead of the start of the 2019 County Championship.[3][4][5][6]

In the opening round of fixtures, Alastair Cook scored 150 not out for Essex against Cambridge MCCU, in his first match since retiring from Test cricket.[7][8] The opening round also saw Somerset beat Cardiff MCCU by 568 runs, a record margin for a first-class match in England.[9][10] In the third and final round of matches, England Test cricketer Haseeb Hameed scored a double century, albeit in a fixture without first-class status.[11]

In August 2019, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that the 2020 fixtures will be the last ones to have first-class status.[12]

  1. ^ "MCC Universities". Lord's. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ "MCCU Fixtures released". Lord's. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches: Fixtures". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Sussex's 2019 Specsavers County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures revealed". Brighton and Hove Independent. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Worcestershire 2019 fixtures announced". Shropshire Star. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Sussex CCC 2019 Championship and One-day Fixtures Announced". Cricket World. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Alastair Cook: Ex-England captain scores century in first innings since Test retirement". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Sir Alastair Cook scores century in first home knock since retirement, knighthood". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  9. ^ "No first-class honours for Cardiff MCCU in record 568-run defeat". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Craig Overton takes 6-24 as Somerset enjoy record-breaking win over Cardiff MCCU". Bridgwater Mercury. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Haseeb Hameed reignites England hopes with double-century in Lancashire warm-up". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Universities set to lose first-class status". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 August 2019.