Profile: Rob Turner

MCC’s tours policy has been overhauled and 2008 will be the last year of ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ tours. From 2009, MCC will fund all its tours, irrespective of location or opposition.

Previously MCC ran around seven tours a year with ‘A’ Tours fully funded by MCC; ‘B’ Tours requiring each player to contribute £400; and players on ‘C’ Tours meeting all of their own costs.

MCC will now aim to run four tours a year and work with the International Cricket Council to agree on destinations.

New Tours sub-committee chair

MCC tourist: Rob Turner In keeping with the spirit of change, MCC will also welcome a new Chair of the Tours sub-Committee on 1st October - ex-Somerset and England ‘A’ wicket-keeper Rob Turner.

Since retiring from first-class cricket in 2005, Turner has kept up his cricketing commitments despite making a career change and starting teaching at Blundell’s School in Devon.

In between teaching his Maths students and coaching the school’s cricketers, Turner plays regularly for MCC in out-matches as well as his club side Weston Super Mare and has sat on the Tours sub-committee since 2007.

Despite strong West Country roots, Turner explains he has always had a passion for 'The Home of Cricket':

"There is so much history and tradition at Lord’s and you realise that when you tour for MCC you have the chance to take all the wonderful things about Lord’s and use it to benefit countries without mature cricketing infrastructures."

Future view: Cricket in St. Kitts Having played for MCC in Italy, New Zealand, Canada, St Kitts & Nevis and the Netherlands, Turner has a clear idea about what MCC tourists should hope to achieve.

"MCC tours have a unique opportunity to develop cricketing talent worldwide.

"As well as providing what will often be the pinnacle of an amateur cricketers’ career, each touring party will contain at least one fully trained coach to organise coaching sessions of locals - and not just cherry-picking the best, but opening it up to all ages and standards."

The thinking behind the changes to the tours policy is echoed in the fond memories Turner has of his MCC tours: "Going on an MCC tour is an honour and a privilege no matter where to.

"In the past, some of our most talented and consistent performers may not have made themselves available for selection, and we hope the new structure encourages them to do so.

"Granting tours ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ status implied some sort of hierarchy: what we want members to understand is that all tours are equal and all provide opportunities to develop cricket abroad."

Destinations in 2009

By reducing the number of tours each year, MCC can divert more resources to each tour it undertakes.

The Club will tour one European country each year, plus three locations from the four ICC regions: Africa, the Americas, East Asia/Pacific and Asia.

In 2009 MCC will visit Croatia, Japan, Indonesia, Nepal and Mozambique.

There will also be special tours to the USA and Canada to mark the 150th anniversary of the first ever cricket tour across the Atlantic.