Well I didn't cancel the flight as I thought I would see what happened. It's the oddest status match I have ever had:

Thank you for interest in our status match programme. I am pleased to inform you that you are eligible for our Status Match programme. Welcome to Gold Status.

We have updated your Flying Club membership and you will receive your status match just before your next flight with us.

Which is at odds with what they say on their status match page:

Become an Instant Gold member by proving you are in the top tier of one of the below airline loyalty schemes.

My next flight with them is a reward flight which doesn't qualify for the status match program so it will be interesting to see what happens although I can probably guess.

But, this really is not my idea of "instant gold". Still, it is Virgin.