Ed Smith has been named as the next President of MCC. He will serve a 12-month term as President, taking up the post on 1 October 2025.

His appointment was announced today by the current President, Lord King of Lothbury, at the Club’s Annual General Meeting held at Lord’s.

Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and England in a career which spanned 13 seasons, scoring nearly 13,000 first-class runs, including 34 centuries. He also played for Cambridge University, graduating with a double first in History.

After retiring from the game in 2008, he embarked on a career in the media, authoring five books and writing for The Times and, most latterly, the New Statesman. He has also worked as a presenter on both radio and television, including as part of the BBC Test Match Special team.

In 2018, he became Chief Selector for the England men’s team. During his three-year tenure, England won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time and enjoyed a period of success across all formats.

Smith is also involved in academia, as co-founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities (ISH), which has a mission to nurture and inspire sport’s current and future leaders. ISH teaches the MA Leadership in Sport in partnership with Loughborough University London.

Ed Smith said of his appointment: “It is a huge honour to succeed Lord King as President of MCC. Lord’s has been a special part of my life – as a cricket fan, a player and then as a selector. I am deeply committed to serving the Club – and the whole game – to the best of my ability.”

MCC President, Lord King, said: “The choice of my successor meets the twin criteria of being an outstanding first-class cricketer who played for England and a highly intelligent author and educator who is ideally equipped to help MCC navigate the challenges ahead. It is with enormous pleasure that I nominate Ed Smith as the President of MCC from 1 October 2025.”

It was announced last week that the Final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be played at Lord’s in 2026, when Smith will be President. The Ground will also host Women’s Test cricket for the first time during his one-year term in office.