MCC honour English cricket servants

Date released: 12 September 2009

Five great servants of the game in this country - Clare Connor, Darren Gough, John Hampshire, Geoff Miller and Peter Willey - have accepted Honorary Life Membership of MCC.

Honorary Life Membership of the Club may be offered by the MCC Committee to cricketers, umpires and administrators in recognition of the service which they have given to the game, often over a very long period.

Underwood praises new MCC Honorary Life Members Derek Underwood, MCC’s President, said: "I am delighted to welcome all our new Honorary Life Members to MCC. All five are tremendously deserving of this award and will be a huge asset to the Club.

"When you see the achievements of this group of individuals, it is a quite astounding contribution to English cricket.

"Clare Connor has captained her country with distinction and is immediately excelling in her administrative role; Darren’s achievements in all forms of the game need no introduction and he is a larger than life personality whose enthusiasm for the game is infectious; John’s playing career was very good and his umpiring was exceptional for a long period; Peter also excelled in the middle as a player and continues to do so as an umpire; and with an Ashes victory under his belt as England’s National Selector, Geoff Miller can reflect on a wonderfully successful career in the game."

Confirming their acceptance of Honorary Life Membership of MCC, the five recipients said:

Clare Connor: "What an absolute honour to be elected to Honorary Life Membership of MCC. I can't tell you how delighted I am."

Darren Gough: pleased to be joining MCC Darren Gough: "I'm delighted to have been made an Honorary Life Member by MCC. Many fantastic players have been granted that honour, and it's a privilege to join their ranks. I always loved playing at Lord's and the history and tradition of the ground. Now I've retired it's always a pleasure to return here and I hope to bring my children to visit on a regular basis."

John Hampshire: "I am delighted and honoured to be elected."

Geoff Miller: "I feel it is a very great honour to receive Honorary Life Membership of MCC. I will continue to do what I think is correct to promote the game and the Spirit of Cricket."

Peter Willey: "This is an honour that was totally unexpected but very much appreciated."

The latest five MCC Honorary Life Members join a select group from around the cricketing world, including Sir Ian Botham, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Garfield Sobers, Imran Khan and Andy Flower.

Earlier this season, at the England v Australia Test match at Lord’s, Sir Alec Bedser presented the Australian Sam Loxton with a Club tie to mark his acceptance of Honorary Life Membership of MCC.

There are now 300 Honorary Life Members of MCC out of a total Full Membership of 18,000.