England quartet headline MCC’s latest life memberships
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced its latest round of Honorary Life Membership (HLM) inductions; Included in those are a quartet of modern England stars.
England’s leading Test run-scorer, Sir Alastair Cook, is joined by countrymen Ian Bell and Marcus Trescothick, with a total of more than 39,000 international runs between them.
A fourth star, England Women’s wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, returned to the field this year, appearing in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Charlotte Edwards Cup and The Hundred, and is recognised as one of the finest keepers of her generation.
Taylor’s openness regarding her struggles with mental health has helped a number of cricketers, high-profile and grassroots speak up and come to terms with similar challenges.
Eight of the 12 Test-playing nations are represented within this year’s HLM list, which includes some of the most recognisable names in the modern game.
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Four South African legends have been awarded Honorary Life Membership, with Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel all receiving the honour. Kallis’s 13,289 Test runs puts him third on the all-time run-scoring list.
Australian and Indian honourees
Alex Blackwell and Damien Martyn of Australia are also included. Allrounder Blackwell won over 250 caps for her country across all formats of the games, and batter Martyn scored almost 10,000 international runs.
Indian duo Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath both enjoyed fine international careers. Harbhajan is India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 417 dismissals in 103 Tests, while Srinath is one of the country’s greatest ODI players, taking 315 wickets to end his career as India’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs.
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Windies trio in the mix
Ian Bishop, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan all represent West Indies. Bishop took 161 wickets in just 43 matches, while Chanderpaul is West Indies’ most capped Test player (164) and only seven players have scored more than his 11,867 runs.
Sarwan racked up 15 Test centuries, and his 291 against England in 2009 equalled the highest individual score by a West Indian.
Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka took 433 Test wickets in a career spanning almost two decades, and features in the top ten of all time Test wicket-takers.
Sara McGlashan is the sole New Zealander on the list, appearing over 200 times for the White Ferns over the course of a 14-year career.
Zimbabwean allrounder Grant Flower has been recognised for his 10,000 international runs in 288 matches, completing a list that celebrates some of the greatest cricketing talent to grace the international arena.
The MCC awards Honorary Life Membership of the Club to some of the world’s finest cricketers.
Once approved by the MCC Committee, letters of invitation are sent to the individual to accept. There is no set number per year. Nominees can accept and be granted the honour at any time.