Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is today delighted to announce that it has elected two cricketers to Honorary Life Membership, each of whom announced their retirement from the international game within the last two years.
Moeen Ali, one of England’s finest all-round cricketers, and Meg Lanning, who captained Australia to an unprecedented period of success, have both agreed to accept the Club’s offer and have now become Honorary Life Members of MCC.
Allrounder Moeen made his Test debut at Lord’s in 2014 and in all, went on to play 68 Tests, 138 One-Day Internationals and 92 T20 Internationals. He finished his international career with 6,678 runs and 366 wickets across all three formats.
He won the Ashes twice, both the 50-over and T20 World Cups and has a Test hat-trick to his name. He also holds the record for the fastest half-century in T20 cricket for England.
He sealed a place on the Lord’s Honours Boards in 2017 when he ripped through the South African batting order with match figures of 10 for 112, claiming the Player of the Match Award in one of his best all-round Test performances.
Moeen said: “It’s a tremendous honour to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC. To be listed alongside so many cricketing greats is truly humbling.
“I’m really thankful to the Club for this, as being made an HLM is very special. I always enjoyed playing at Lord’s and it was an incredible feeling to walk out at such a historic venue.”
Lanning, who made her debut for Australia at 18 and went on to a become one of their greatest batters across a 13-year career, led her country to win the 50-over World Cup, four T20 World Cups and Commonwealth Games gold.
When she retired from the game in 2023, she had lifted more World Cup trophies as captain than anyone in the history of the game.
She scored 17 centuries across all three formats, which included over 100 matches in both white-ball formats. She skippered Australia in 182 of her 241 appearances, scoring a combined total of 8,352 international runs.
At Lord’s, she was on the winning side in both her ODI appearances and also scored a half-century for the Rest of the World XI against MCC in the Lord’s Bicentenary match of 2014. She made Lord’s her home last year, as she helped London Spirit to win The Hundred for the first time.
Lanning said: “I’m thrilled to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC, becoming part of a prestigious Club and following in the footsteps of a long line of fantastic cricketers, both from Australia and around the world.
“It is a huge privilege, as it always has been to play at Lord’s both internationally and domestically, and I am honoured to accept the invitation.”
In the year since the Club announced its last cohort of Honorary Life Members, Sir James Anderson was also bestowed with the honour, with his membership presented by Mark Nicholas on the outfield at Lord’s as the legendary England bowler played his final Test match in July 2024.
Anderson, whose knighthood for services to cricket was announced earlier this year, played the last of his 188 Test matches against West Indies at Lord’s, ending his incredible career having taken 704 wickets – more than any other fast bowler in the history of the game.
Claire Taylor, Chair of MCC Cricket Committee, added: “With Lord’s preparing for its first international action of the new season, it is fantastic to see three more cricketers confirmed as Honorary Life Members of MCC.
“The list of Honorary Life Members includes many of the greatest cricketers to have played the game, and this latest cohort are no exception.
“They have made immeasurable contributions to the game both on and off the pitch, and we are honoured to welcome them as Members of our Club.”