London, April 14: Indian members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) who turn up at Lord's on match days are invariably impeccably dressed but it seems standards have slipped somewhat among locals who yesterday needed reminding what is permitted and what is not.
Things have come to such a pass at the club, which was founded in 1757, that the MCC has been forced for the first time to issue picture cards to illustrate what is allowed and what is likely to get you asked to leave politely by stewards.
First of all, there is the Long Room, the inner sanctum, where rules are the strictest. The rules are slightly more relaxed for the Members' Friends' Enclosures.
With the issue of picture cards, "even the least sartorially savvy cricket lover will know exactly what is meant by a 'lounge suit' or the phrase 'smart casual', The Daily Telegraph observed snootily today.
The paper said "the move comes after several complaints were made by MCC members - whose average age is 57 - that standards were slipping. Many were upset about the amount of flesh on show - especially among newly allowed female members - and what they claimed was a higher emphasis on the 'casual' element of the 'smart casual' scale. One described some women members as wearing 'garb fit for a vigorous weeding session in the herbaceous border'."
The MCC's rules currently state that whilst in the Pavilion and Long Room, gentlemen shall wear "lounge suits or tailored jacket and trousers, shirt, tie or cravat and shoes with socks".
The rules decree that all shirts must have a collar and polo shirts, T-shirts or anything made of denim are banned. It is only in revolutionary Iran that the rules apply the other way round - anyone with a collar is assumed to be a supporter of the late Shah and is ejected or worse.
Ladies heading for the Long Room are asked to "wear dresses; or skirts or trousers (which may be cropped below the knee) or culottes, with blouses or smart tops and shoes, boots or sandals".
Bare midriffs, bikini tops, or leggings without a skirt over the top "are a no no". They are also banned from wearing "jeans and their close relations; leggings; Jodhpur-style trousers; T-shirts; track suits; training shoes; plimsolls; flip-flop shoes; denim clothing and overalls".
Rules for both sexes are relaxed for the Members' Friends' Enclosures with jeans and polo shirts allowed although T-shirts and cropped tops remain off limits. Any transgression will lead to them falling foul of the infamously strict stewards on the steps of the members' stands who will turn them away.
Neil Priscott, the MCC's media manager, said that the move, copied from the sister organisation the Melbourne Cricket Club in Australia, was only meant to simplify guidelines. "It has nothing to do with fashion," he said.
For spectators the rules are the most relaxed but sunbathing or going topless is not allowed. Some of the older MCC members, attired in jacket, striped tie and Panama hat, still have not recovered from the sight of boys doing the Bhangra after India won the World Cup in 1983 and subsequently the Natwest Trophy in 2002 - especially as England had scored an apparently match-winning 325 for five in 50 overs.
Today's Daily Mail also warmed to the theme of dressing appropriately for Lord's, generally regarded as the home of cricket. It assisted its readers by generously illustrating its report. Sartorial outrages included wearing "shoes without socks".
Of course, there are those who protest that the MCC is being "stuffy" but one member said he was pleased that the club was cracking down: "It is good to know the trend for going sockless will not be tolerated in the Lord's Pavilion."
