MCC is pleased to announce today that Mark Nicholas will be recommended to the membership at the 2024 AGM as the next Club Chair.
If approved by Members, Mark will succeed Bruce Carnegie-Brown on 1 October 2024.
Following the announcement last year that Bruce would not seek a second term in the role, the Club invited applications for the position and, following a rigorous selection process, Mark, who is currently serving a one-year term as the Club’s President, will be recommended as the new Chair at the AGM in May.
One of the most recognisable figures in cricket broadcasting, Mark moved into the media following his retirement as a cricketer, where he played as a top-order batter and medium-pace bowler for Hampshire and captained England A.
He scored over 25,000 runs and took 173 wickets in a professional career spanning over two decades. He scored two first-class centuries for MCC at Lord’s within a month of each other in 1985, against County Champions Essex and the Australian touring side respectively. He also captained Hampshire to four major trophies, three of which came in finals at Lord’s.
Mark has been a Member of MCC since 1981 and since the early 1990s has served on the Cricket, Marketing and Main Committees. He has also toured Bangladesh, East Africa and Bermuda with the Club.
He is currently Chair of the Southern Brave team in The Hundred, a non-executive director of the media rights agency, River Media Partners, and co-founder/director of Century Cricket which, among other initiatives (including the development of 24/7 indoor cricket centres), runs IPL-style T20 tournaments for club and junior cricketers in Australia.
In 2005, he co-founded Chance to Shine, based on an initiative he conceived to reinvigorate state-school cricket. It now operates in 4,000 schools and has touched the lives of more than 6 million children who might otherwise not have played the game.
"I hope to ensure that we can play our part in cricket’s development over the coming years"
Mark said of today’s announcement: “The role of MCC Chair is a huge responsibility and I am honoured to have been named as the Committee’s recommendation to the membership.
"Amongst many aspects of the Club’s immediate future, is the need to engage more with Members. In addition, we are embarking on many new projects and opportunities as we look to embrace this ever-changing game. I hope to ensure that we can play our part in cricket’s development over the coming years.”
Chris Rogers, MCC Treasurer, said: “The Nominations committee found that Mark was the outstanding candidate for the role, noting that he has a deep and personal knowledge of the game.
"In making its recommendation, the MCC Committee feels that his experience, as a player, broadcaster, journalist and administrator, would be of huge benefit to MCC.”