Lord MacLaurin to take over as MCC president from October 1

Lord Ian MacLaurin of Knebworth, the former ECB chairman, is slated to make a comeback to cricket administration as he will take over as the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from incumbent president Matthew Fleming, starting October 1.

MacLaurin expressed his gratitude to Fleming for the nomination for the post of president, which got approved in an Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (May 4). “It is one of the greatest honours in cricket to be invited to be the President of the finest cricket club in the world and I am thankful to Matthew Fleming for asking me to succeed him,” MacLaurin said.

“I have been a member of MCC for over 50 years, and I take great pride in seeing how the club has blossomed over that period – not only with the development of this iconic ground but also with all of the work done to promote the game for men and women, boys and girls, around the world. I very much look forward to my year in office and hope to help the excellent team at MCC continue all this good work,” he added.

Fleming was full of praise for his successor’s ‘fairness and clarity of thought about the future of the game’. In an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of MCC, on Wednesday (May 4), Fleming’s nomination to appoint MacLaurin as the next president was approved.

“I first came to know Ian (MacLaughrin) in the late 1990s, when I was chairman of the PCA and he was chairman of the ECB. Ian was exploring ways of restructuring domestic cricket, recognising the increasingly important role of international cricket and international cricketers,” Fleming said.

“I was struck by his fairness and clarity of thought about the future of the game, qualities that I believe will be needed in the year ahead, given the uncertainties in the cricketing landscape at present and the opportunities and threats facing the sport.”

MacLaurin was in his post at the ECB from 1997 to 2002, during which came the appointment of England’s first overseas coach Duncan Fletcher, who led the side to their most memorable Ashes victory over Australia in 2005. Fleming praised MacLaurin’s pragmatism among other things, and deemed him a visionary leader of the ECB.

“In choosing my successor, I was looking for someone who can harness a passion and knowledge of cricket with experience and pragmatism. Ian was a talented cricketer, who played to a good level, and has always been a passionate supporter of MCC. A visionary leader of the ECB, widely respected in the business world he is, all in all, uniquely qualified for and deserving of the role of MCC President.”