Lord's drops Oxford-Cambridge and Eton-Harrow matches

The centuries' old tradition which pits Eton against Harrow and Oxford against Cambridge at the iconic Lords Cricket Ground each summer will be scrapped from next year, it has been announced. 

Eton v Harrow first began in 1805 - when Lord Byron played, despite his club foot - and is the longest-running regular fixture at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), while the first Oxbridge Varsity took place in 1827. 

But after almost 200 years, the MCC wants to widen the number of people who get to play on the hallowed turf, reports the Times, opting to stage more finals of competitions at all levels, as well as finding space for shortened versions of the game, such as The Hundred and Middlesex's Twenty20 fixtures.

It comes after pressure from 'anti-sexism' campaigners who protested the Oxbridge Varsity last summer, demanding the women's version take place alongside the men's at the 'Home of Cricket'. 

The traditional matches will now likely be played on school and university grounds in the future.  

Old boys from Eton and the other affected institutions, along with former MCC committee members, branded the move 'disappointing' and 'saddening'. 

'These decisions were not taken lightly,' an MCC spokesman told the Times.

'We want to extend playing opportunities, broadening the scope for cricketers to realise their ambition of playing at Lord's.'

It comes after a group called Stump Out Sexism demanded the Oxbridge Varsity match be banned until they both agreed to put on a women's game alongside the men's.

They held a demonstration outside the Grace Gates before the match last year.

They said in a statement at the time: 'The MCC have control over their own calendar and thus have the power to influence the parameters of fixture