MCC ANNOUNCES LATEST QUINTET OF CRICKETERS TO BE AWARDED HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP 

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is today delighted to announce that it has elected five international cricketers to Honorary Life Membership. 

Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Tamim Iqbal, Mel Jones and Cheteshwar Pujara have all accepted the Club’s offer to become Honorary Life Members of MCC. 

New Zealand duo Bates and Devine will each retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup after illustrious careers with their country, and both were at Lord’s today, along with Jones, to accept their Honorary Life Membership which was presented to them by MCC President, Ed Smith, and Chair, Mark Nicholas. 
 

Bates made her New Zealand debut two decades ago and the batting all-rounder is the leading run-scorer in women’s T20 Internationals. She has scored over 10,000 runs for the White Ferns across the two international white-ball formats.

She was named the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year and Wisden’s Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World in 2016. 

Devine also made her New Zealand bow in 2006 and went on to become one of the finest all-rounders in the women’s game, making over 8,000 runs and taking in excess of 240 wickets across ODI and T20I cricket.

Having been appointed captain of the White Ferns in 2020, she led her country to ICC Women’s T20 World Cup glory in 2024, defeating South Africa in the final. 

Iqbal becomes one of a select number from Bangladesh to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Club and is one of the country’s most celebrated cricketers. 

He made his Test debut in 2008, and went on to make over 5,000 runs, second on the all-time list for Bangladesh. He is one of only a handful of Bangladeshi players to appear on the Honours Boards at Lord’s, for his century against England in 2010. 

Iqbal also has over 8,000 runs from his 243 One-Day Internationals, topping the list for the Tigers in the 50-over format. He was named as one of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack’s Cricketers of the Year, and Wisden’s Test Cricketer of the Year, in 2011. 

He was recently appointed President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the youngest to assume the role. 

Jones represented Australia in five Test matches and 16 ODIs, scoring a century on debut against England – the country of her birth – at Guildford in 1998. She won two Women’s World Cups with Australia and was part of two successful Ashes campaigns. 

In addition to her success as a player, she has made a considerable contribution to the game off the field, and it is these achievements that have been recognised with her election to Honorary Life Membership.  

Jones made a smooth transition to the commentary box and became synonymous with many cricketing broadcasts around the globe, including on Sky Sports in England, and at various ICC tournaments in both the men’s and women’s game. 

She has been dedicated to breaking down barriers for women in sport, with a passion for providing women with opportunities to achieve their sporting goals. 

This was displayed in earnest last year when, along with Dr Catherine Ordway and Emma Staples, she was instrumental in organising and funding ways for the Afghanistan women’s cricket team to flee their country and find safe refuge in Australia. The trio were awarded the MCC Spirit of Cricket Award for this initiative in 2025. 

Pujara made his Test debut for India against Australia in 2010 and went on to appear 103 times for his country in the format. 

His 7,195 Test runs put him eighth in the all-time run-scoring list for India, and he made 19 centuries in the process, with a top score of 206 not out coming against England in Ahmedabad in 2012. Known for his obdurate style of batting – a difficult player to remove from the crease – Pujara amassed in excess of 21,000 first-class runs. 

He is another player to have made the move into commentary, and during last year’s men’s Test match at Lord’s between England and India, he rung the five-minute bell on the third day, and commentated on the match for BBC Test Match Special and Sony India. 

Rob Lawson, Chief Executive and Secretary of MCC, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome five fantastic cricketers as our newest Honorary Life Members.  

“Each of them is richly deserving of the recognition for their lifelong dedication to the game. We look forward to welcoming them to Lord’s as MCC Members in the years to come."