Next MCC President: Mike Brearley

Date released: 2 May 2007

Mike Brearley, the former England captain, will serve as the next President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). His one-year term of office will begin on 1st October 2007. The announcement of his appointment is being made this afternoon at Lord's, during MCC's Annual General Meeting, by Doug Insole - the current Club President.

In his highly successful first-class career, from 1961 to 1983, Mike Brearley not only represented but captained - with great distinction - England, Middlesex, Cambridge University and MCC.

As the captain of England in 31 of his 39 Test matches, Mike Brearley led his country to victory on no fewer than eighteen occasions - most dramatically during the 1981 Ashes Series. He also represented England in 25 one-day internationals, including 1979's World Cup Final at Lord's.

As the captain of Middlesex between 1971 and 1982, Mike Brearley led his side to the County Championship on four occasions - winning the title outright on three of them and sharing it (with Kent) in 1977. He also captained Middlesex to success in two Gillette Cup Finals at Lord's, in 1977 and 1980 (when he was named 'Man of the Match').

During his period at Cambridge University, he hit centuries in two Varsity matches at Lord's - 113 not out in 1962, and 119 in 1964 (when he was captaining the light Blues for the second successive year).

The highest innings of his first-class career was scored for the Club, during his captaincy of an MCC Under-25 tour of Pakistan in 1966-67. In a match against North Zone, in Peshawar, he scored 312 not out against an attack including Intikhab Alam. On the same tour, he also hit 223 against Pakistan's Under-25 side at Dacca. Aided by these triple and double-centuries, he finished the trip with a first-class tour average of over 132.

A notable century in Club colours came almost ten years later, when he put on 301 for the first wicket, in partnership with Dennis Amiss, in a match against the County Champions (Leicestershire) at Lord's - finishing on 137 not out.

After his retirement from first-class cricket, Mike Brearley wrote an acclaimed book on 'The Art of Captaincy' (first published in 1985) and has since become a leading psycho-analyst.

Born in Harrow in 1942, Mike Brearley was named one of the Wisden 'Cricketers of the Year' in 1977. A year later, he was appointed OBE for his many services to cricket. In 1983, he became an Honorary Life Member of MCC, and he has served the Club in a number of roles. For instance, he was a member of MCC's Cricket Committee in the early 1980s and has served on its World Cricket Committee since its creation in April 2006.

Coincidentally, Mike Brearley's first-class career involved almost exactly the same number of runs (25,186) and matches (455) as Doug Insole's (25,241 and 450, respectively).