Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath among 18 new honorary members of MCC

London: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Tuesday announced 18 new honorary life members. MCC awards Honorary Life Membership (HLM) of the club to some of the world’s finest cricketers.

Eight of the 12 Test-playing nations are represented in this year’s list, which includes some of the most recognisable names in the modern game. England’s leading Test run-scorer, Sir Alastair Cook, is joined by fellow countrymen Ian Bell and Marcus Trescothick, totalling more than 39,000 international runs between them. A fourth England star, 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 wicket-keepers of her generation.

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.

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, having taken 315 wickets and ended his career as India’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs.

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.

Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC, in an official release said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to welcome our newest Honorary Life Members of MCC. The cricketers announced today are among the greatest international players of their generation.”

“We are privileged to now count them as valued Members of our Club,” he added.