MCC Presidency announcement

Walthamstow Guardian, 11th May, 2006

DOUG INSOLE, president of Essex County Cricket Club, has been appointed next President of the MCC.

The former Sir George Monoux Grammar School pupil played for the county for 17 years and was appointed captain in 1951, holding the position for 10 years. He also represented England in nine Test matches.

Insole played in 450 first-class matches scoring in excess of 25,000 runs, including 50 centuries one of which was a Test hundred against South Africa and he is one of the greatest cricketers to have represented the county.

As skipper of the side he raised the fielding standards and brought a professional approach to the game, displaying burning enthusiasm, shrewdness and imagination.

Appointed as Test selector in 1960, he subsequently relinquished the captaincy before finally retiring from the first-class game in 1963 to concentrate on a business career although he also managed two England tours of Australia, the first in 1978-79 and then in 1982-83.

A past chairman with Essex CCC and the Test and County Cricket Board, Mr Insole became a Life Vice-President of the MCC in 1993 and he currently chairs the European Cricket Council.

Insole was also an accomplished footballer, playing inside-right for Walthamstow Avenue for two seasons before going to Cambridge University where he won three Blues and captained the university at both football and cricket.

He also played for Pegasus and appeared for Corinthian Casuals in the 1955-56 FA Amateur Cup Final.

He has also been a Justice of the Peace for Chingford whilst his many services to the game of cricket deservedly saw him awarded the CBE in 1979.

MCC Presidency; MCC announcement

Doug Insole will serve as the next President of Marylebone Cricket Club; his one-year term of office will begin on 1st October 2006.

The announcement of his appointment was made this afternoon (Wednesday 3rd May) at Lord's, during MCC's Annual General Meeting, by Robin Marlar - the current Club President.

Doug Insole has made an enormous contribution to cricket, on and off the pitch, over many years. He played for Essex CCC for seventeen years (and captained the county for ten of them); he represented England in nine Test matches; he served as an England Test selector for ten years; and he managed two England tours of Australia (in 1978-79 and 1982-83).

A past chairman of both Essex CCC and the Test & County Cricket Board, Doug Insole currently chairs the European Cricket Council.

For his many services to cricket, Doug Insole was appointed CBE in 1979. He became a Life Vice-President of MCC in 1993 - 40 years after he first joined the Club's Cricket committee. He subsequently served the Club in a wide range of important roles: for instance, he was a member of the main MCC Committee for a total of over 30 years (spread across five separate periods) and a Club Trustee from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

In addition to his distinguished playing record as a cricketer, Doug Insole was an accomplished footballer. He won three Blues for football - as he did for cricket - while at Cambridge University, and captained the University at both sports. He also played for Southend United, the Corinthian Casuals and Pegasus - serving as the club's first captain. In 1956, he appeared in the FA Amateur Cup Final.

Born in Clapton in 1926, Doug Insole's year as MCC President will end in 2007 - 60 years after he made his debut in first-class cricket.

In his cricketing career, he played in 450 first-class matches, scored over 25,000 runs and hit more than 50 centuries (including one Test hundred, against South Africa): indeed, he is one of the very select group of batsmen to have scored a century against every first-class county other than his own.

Doug Insole is already the President of Essex CCC.

Doug Insole, MCC's next President
© MCC/CS