Middlesex is considering its options for an alternative home for cricket matches beyond Lord's, their current 160-year home ground. This is in light of growing concerns about the club's lack of first-class facilities and infrastructure. However, Chief Executive Andrew Cornish has expressed the view that the ground would still have a duty to serve the needs of North London's cricket community. This could include the possibility of hosting two Hundred matches in the future.
Middlesex has been the primary tenant at Lord's since 1864. Over this long tenure, the venue's grandeur has played an important role in the club's reputation as one of England's most successful counties in terms of winning the County Championship. With 13 outright titles, Middlesex currently ranks third, behind only Yorkshire and Surrey.
However, the lack of a permanent home has become a significant challenge for the club in recent months, particularly in light of the introduction of the Hundred, a tournament for which host-venue clubs are expected to be gifted 51% equity shares of their respective teams under plans currently being finalised by the ECB.
This has resulted in MCC, rather than Middlesex, assuming the primary role in driving the Lord's-based London Spirit. Similarly, Middlesex's fellow London-based county, Surrey, who recorded an £8 million profit last year, has expressed plans to incorporate the Oval Invincibles into their own club branding.
Cornish, Middlesex's chief executive, acknowledges that the club's "nomadic" status offers certain advantages, including the avoidance of debt that contributed to Gloucestershire's £1.19 million losses last year. He acknowledges that a strategic re-evaluation may be necessary to ensure the club's continued participation in the English game.
Cornish told ESPNcricinfo:
"Middlesex has had a history of a slightly nomadic lifestyle. We've successfully done that for 160 years and had a lot of success. We are a tenant with a strategic relationship with MCC, and it's not all bad, because when MCC redevelop the Tavern and Allen Stands, they are the ones redeveloping it, not us. But the trade-off is we play at Lord's. When we attract new players, like Mark Stoneman or Leus du Plooy, one of the reasons they come is to call this home."
The relationship was subjected to intense scrutiny last year when Middlesex was placed under special measures by the ECB. This was due to a series of financial irregularities, including a mismanagement of the pension fund and an ongoing dispute with their former chief executive Richard Goatley.
Despite recording a modest profit of £131,000 in 2023-24, the club's first since 2016, Middlesex has chosen to forego overseas players this year in an effort to mitigate costs. In addition, the team has opted to host two home T20 Blast matches at the home venue of Essex County Cricket Club in Chelmsford, rather than incur the expense of erecting temporary facilities at their other grounds in Merchant Taylor's School or Radlett.
However, they do not have significant influence on the current climate of the game, as evidenced by their recent loss to Essex in the bid to host a Tier 1 women's team from 2025. Despite the award being partly based on the club's strong ties with East London's cricket community, Cornish described the situation as "disappointing" and "surprising", particularly given that his county's 4.5 million population offers a potential playing pool that is second only to that of Yorkshire.
The club has consistently demonstrated its commitment to these communities, with noteworthy investments in Brentford, where GlaxoSmithKline, a leading pharmaceutical company, has provided a state-of-the-art training ground that will primarily serve as a base for the county's women's cricket teams. Strauss recently inaugurated a new facility at Merchant Taylor’s School. This facility features a wicket block on the same slope as at Lord’s, along with an indoor school, which Strauss has described as the best of its kind he has ever seen.
Additionally, the Middlesex brand is being promoted overseas. For instance, a recent Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
It is important to note that there is no way of avoiding the significance of Lord’s to the county’s existing business model. Cornish expressed a positive outlook regarding the need for the ground to meet its obligations to the wider London community that Middlesex represents.