The MCC awarded Honorary Life Membership to some of the world’s finest cricketers yesterday, including Essex’s Alastair Cook, as well as former players Hashim Amla, Grant Flower and Harbhajan Singh.
Cook is England’s leading Test run-scorer with 12,472 runs and captained the national side between 2010 and 2016. He retired in 2018 and scored a century during his final innings against India at The Kia Oval, meaning that he made a ton in both his first and last Test match for England. During his Test career, he scored 33 centuries, whilst his average was an impressive 45.35.
Hashim Amla is one of four South African legends to be awarded Life Membership. Hashim scored 18,672 runs for his country across all formats in an International career that lasted 16 years. He had a stint with Essex in 2009, playing five matches across Championship and List A cricket. He scored 543 runs during those fixtures, with centuries in both competitions.
Grant Flower has been recognised for his 10,000 International runs for Zimbabwe in 288 matches. Flower made both his Test and One-Day debuts in 1992, and played for Essex between 2005 and 2010, becoming a cult hero at Chelmsford.
Harbhajan has been recognised for his contribution to Indian cricket. The 41-year-old is India’s third-highest Test wicket-taker, with 417 dismissals in 103 Tests, having made his debut against Australia back in 1998. Singh played for Essex during the 2012 season, taking 24 wickets across all formats.
Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to welcome our newest Honorary Life Members of MCC. The cricketers announced are among the greatest International players of their generation.
“We are privileged to now count them as valued Members of our Club.”
