In front of the massed media at Lord’s Cricket Ground 25th June Indian cricket star Kapil Dev raised two trophies. One was the Prudential Cricket World Cup he led his team to win on 25th June 1983. The other was a commemorative stamp sheet and first day cover issued by Bletchley Park’s tiny post office and presented by MCC Chief Executive Keith Bradshaw. The occasion was a reunion hosted by the MCC for the team that changed the face of world cricket and put India on the map as a cricket superpower. It sparked the Indian national interest in cricket that has now reached fanatical proportions and created the controversial IPL Twenty20 series.

The commemorative cover and stamp sheet was created by Bletchley park Post office in conjunction with Indian cricket historian Dr Boria Majumdar. It uses iconic images from India’s 1983 World Cup campaign with the stamp cancelled on 25th June using the current BCCI logo. The team signed four covers; one will remain in the MCC Museum, whilst the others will be kept in India as mementos of this historic occasion. Only 250 covers were issued and these can be viewed in the MCC section of the website at http://www.bletchleycovers.com. The covers are currently priced at £12.50 each and demand is already very high.
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Note to editors: Photo’s of the event and cover /stamp jpegs are available if required.