MCC rules out rescuing crisis club Middlesex after Gatting’s damning letter

No business case for offering financial assistance

Former players said county ‘drifting towards irrelevance’

The MCC has ruled out buying or investing in Middlesex as their long-term tenants at Lord’s begin another season in a state of crisis.

A group of distinguished former players led by ex-England captain Mike Gatting has called on chairman Richard Sykes to stand down due to poor performances on the field and long-standing financial and governance problems, with an open letter published yesterday claiming that Middlesex are “drifting towards irrelevance.”