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Stephen Fry to become next President of MCC

by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) & Cricket World Wednesday 4 May 2022

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Stephen Fry has been named as the next President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), with the appointment having been announced at today’s Annual General Meeting.

His nomination was announced by current President Clare Connor at Lord’s and Fry will take up the post on 1 October 2022.

Fry is a lifelong cricket supporter, a patron of the MCC Foundation, and delivered the MCC Cowdrey Lecture last year.

He said of his appointment: “I am honoured and proud to be nominated as the next President of MCC. It is a Club that is known throughout the world for what it represents in the game and to be gifted the opportunity to perform this role is truly humbling.

“I thank Clare for this incredible opportunity and I look forward to supporting her as President Designate over the summer before commencing my own innings in the autumn.”

Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director. He is also an advocate for mental health and has been President of Mind, the mental health charity, for over a decade.

An MCC Member since 2011, he is widely known to be a lover of cricket and delivered the 20th MCC Cowdrey Lecture in November 2021. As only the second non-cricketing personality to give the Lecture, his impassioned speech was both powerful and memorable.

Fry has also worked with MCC previously to narrate a series of videos to help explain aspects of the Laws of Cricket for use on MCC’s elearning platforms.

MCC President Clare Connor said: “I am thrilled to be able to announce Stephen as my successor. He has a deep love and care for cricket and will be a wonderful ambassador for MCC. The Cowdrey Lecture he delivered last year was inspiring and showed the extent to which he understands the challenges and opportunities that both MCC and cricket face. He will bring a wealth of experience to the role and I hope he thoroughly enjoys his year.”

Today’s Annual General Meeting at Lord’s was the first to be held in a hybrid format, with Members attending in person at the Ground as well as online. This follows the previous two years where meetings were held solely online due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are few clubs in the world that have made as big an impact on any sport as MCC has made on cricket. From its iconic ground in north-west London, MCC has led the game for over 200 years and helped take it from a national pastime to a global obsession.

At our heart is Lord’s, the Home of Cricket. Taking care over every detail, we’re dedicated to growing its reputation as the most celebrated and admired venue in cricket. Everything we do is for the good of the game; from working with local communities to growing cricket’s global influence.

Founded in 1787, MCC is recognised as the sole authority on the game’s Laws. There are approximately 18,350 Full and 6,000 Associate Members of MCC.Members of the Melbourne Cricket Club, in Australia, have some reciprocal membership rights with the Marylebone Cricket Club, although, with an enormous waiting list to become a member you have more chance winning on australianonlinecasinosites than ever becoming a member!

The first match ever played at ‘Lord’s Cricket Ground’ was in 1787, when businessman, Thomas Lord set up a new ground in what was then known as Dorset Fields. Moving twice since then, in 1811 and 1814, Lord’s Ground has resided at its current location in St John’s Wood for over 200 years.

As well as hosting some of the most memorable international matches in history, Lord’s has recently hosted the finals of both the Men’s and Women’s ICC Cricket World Cup. In 2017, England’s women defeated India in a thrilling final and 2019 saw England’s men claim victory over New Zealand in a dramatic super over, creating sporting history as ‘the greatest cricket match ever played’.