Rising temperatures in Britain have prompted the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to allow its male members to participate in matches without jackets.

“Due to the unusually high temperatures, the MCC has decided to exempt gentlemen from the obligation to wear jackets in the pavilion. This applies to members of the MCC and Middlesex and their guests,” tweeted @homeOfCricket, the official account from Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The need of perfect and elegant dress

Generally the MCC – owner of London’s famous Lord’s cricket ground and the game’s “keeper of the rules” – insists on adherence to a strict dress code. “Gentlemen should wear a suit or jacket and trousers, shirt, tie or scarf and shoes with socks,” says the protocol. As for women, they should be worn with “dresses, skirts or trousers (which can be shortened below the knee) or with culottes, elegant blouses or tops”.

The temperature in London reached 34 degrees on Thursday. The breach of protocol was therefore particularly commended by members of the MCC, identified by their red and gold striped ties, who attended a match between Middlesex and Hampshire earlier in the evening.