MCC today began its overseas touring programme for 2025 as a squad of 13 players departed for Portugal, the Club’s opening men’s trip of the year.

The squad left Lord’s today for Porto, where they will open the trip with a timed match against Oporto Club, at the Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club.

Later in the week, MCC will play a President’s XI in a 40-over match in Lisbon at the Santarem Cricket Ground, before taking on Portugal A in the T20 format.

A three-team T10 tournament, between MCC, the President’s XI and Portugal A, will take place early next week before the tour closes with two T20 matches against a Portugal XI.

As is customary with MCC tours, one of the main aims is the development of the game in areas which cricket is played less than other parts of the world, and the squad will hold coaching sessions with local children in Santarem.

The squad consists of MCC Playing Members who compete at ECB Premier League level. Gareth James, who captained the MCC tour of Austria in 2023, is managing the squad, which will be skippered by Harry Houillon.

Houillon plays for Sevenoaks Vine CC in the Kent Cricket League, and the top-order batter has previously represented Cambridge University and Kent.

Also in the squad is Jimmy Dixon, a seamer who has represented England’s Deaf Squads since 2005. He played for MCC at Lord’s last year, against an ECB Chair’s Disability XI, which was the first occasion that Disability Cricket was played on the Main Ground.James Overy, Head of Cricket Projects, said: “Only four of the playing squad have previously toured with MCC, so the trip represents a fantastic opportunity for several of our Playing Members to experience this type of trip for the first time.”

“Overseas touring is a big part of the Club’s commitment to growing cricket on a global basis and this will be our first tour of Portugal since 1999, so we’re pleased to be working closely with the country’s cricketing community.”

There will be three further overseas tours this year. Men’s squads will depart for Bulgaria in late August, and Zimbabwe in October.

For the first time, there is a combined men’s and women’s tour in October and November, when squads will travel to Brazil.
 

The squad for this tour is:

Gareth James (Tour Manager)
Gareth Ansell (wkt)
Jamie Crawley
Jimmy Dixon
Harry Houillon (c)
Gareth Langman
Christopher Morgan
George Sturges
Jigar Mehta
Inderpal Nandra
Rishi Pandya
Benjamin Robinson
Charles Rogers
Samuel van Daesdonk
Neil Beeforth (Umpire)

Fixtures: