MCC continued its touring programme for 2025 this week as a squad of 13 players departed for Bulgaria.

The squad left Lord’s on Wednesday for Sofia, where they began the tour with practice and a coaching session for local schoolchildren at the National Sports Academy, the venue where all of their subsequent matches will take place.

The opening match day for the squad will see them play two T20 matches against a Sofia Stars and Spartan CC XI, before a similar format of matches the following day, when MCC take on the Bulgarian National Team in two T20s.

Bulgaria are ranked 87^th in the ICC men’s T20 International rankings, and were most recently in international action last month, when they won a T20I triangular series with Gibraltar and Turkey, beating the Gibraltarians in the final by eight wickets on home turf in Sofia.

There will be more coaching for MCC before they meet MUS (Medical University Sofia CC) in a T20, ahead of their final match, against Bulgaria once more, this time in a 30-over affair.

The squad consists of MCC Playing Members, most of whom compete at ECB Premier League level. Adam Potter is managing the squad, which will be skippered by Steven Reingold.

Reingold, formerly of Glamorgan, played at Lord’s earlier this summer against a ICC European XI, and plays for Stanmore in the Middlesex Premier Division.

James Overy, Head of Cricket Projects, said: “As ever with our overseas tours, the trip represents a fantastic opportunity for our Playing Members to experience representing the Club abroad.

“Overseas touring is a big part of the Club’s commitment to growing cricket on a global basis and there will be a focus on coaching local children at the National Sports Academy, around our schedule of fixtures.”

There will be two further overseas tours this year, with a men’s squad departing for 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: Adam Potter (Tour Manager), Jaisreet Bajwa, Dan Baylis, Michael Cafferkey, Jack Doyle, Andrew Fishburn (wkt), Steven Hirst, Jack Horsley, Bradley Lane, Patrick O’Driscoll, Richard Oxley (wkt), Steven Reingold (c), George Sandbach, Tom Jenkins, Shaun Storey (Umpire).

Fixtures (all to take place at the National Sports Academy in Sofia):

Saturday 30 August

Sofia Stars and Spartan CC v MCC – 2 x 20 over matches

Sunday 31 August

Bulgaria v MCC - 2 x 20 over matches

Tuesday 2 September

MUS CC v MCC – 20 over match

Thursday 4 September

Bulgaria v MCC – 30 over match