A pair of cricketers from the British Army have been selected for Marylebone Cricket Club’s upcoming tour of Nepal
Major Storm Green and Major Alex Senneck will be part of a 13-strong squad for the two-week tour, which gets underway on 12th November. Leicestershire all-rounder Neil Dexter will captain MCC and former England international Martin Saggers will travel with the group as umpire.
MCC will play six games during the tour, including a two-day and a 20-over match against the Nepal national team. They will also play against Nepal B and U19 teams. Five fixtures will be played in Kathmandu, and the group will also travel west to Pokhara for a 50-over match against Pokhara CC.
The squad will visit areas affected by the earthquakes and will run coaching clinics with local youngsters – who will not have access to elite coaching and whose facilities have been severely damaged.
The tour had been under review after this year’s earthquakes, but was confirmed by MCC Head of Cricket, John Stephenson, after a short fact-finding visit to Nepal in October.
This will be the third time MCC have toured Nepal. The first visit was in March 2003, when the itinerary included four one-day matches in Kathmandu. MCC won three, including a last-ball victory over the Nepal Under 19 side. The second tour of Nepal took place in March 2009 and was captained by former England international, Min Patel.
John Stephenson said: “MCC have been touring overseas for many years but I think this is one of the most important in the Club’s history. Cricket’s popularity in Nepal has been growing significantly in recent years, and after the trauma the country has been through this year, the sport has become a relief to many local people. It is fantastic that MCC is able to contribute towards that and I am confident that Storm, Alex and the rest of the squad will be excellent ambassadors both for the Club and English and Welsh cricket.”
Neil Dexter said: “It is a great honour to be selected as captain of an MCC squad, and I’m really looking forward to the tour. I’m particularly excited about playing against some of the best young cricketers in Nepal and being a part of the growing passion for cricket that exists there. The squad and I also have an important responsibility in representing MCC and the Club’s Spirit of Cricket values both when playing and coaching local youngsters – something which I’m sure everyone will thrive on.”
The full MCC squad to tour Nepal is: Colin Maber (Manager, MCC Estates Committee Chairman), Neil Dexter (Captain, Leicestershire CCC), Liam Redrup (Somerset CCC), George Adair (Hampstead CC), Steve Clark (Hampstead CC), Storm Green (British Army CC), Scott McKechnie (Hartley Country Club CC), Michael Coles (Corsham CC, Wiltshire CCC), Alex MacQueen (Valley End CC), Alex Senneck (Westbury & District CC, British Army CC), Ben Shepperson (Mildenhall CC), Richard Wilkinson (Alderley Edge CC), Chris Lawlor (St Fagans CC), Greg Holmes (Cardiff CC, Wales MC), Martin Saggers (Umpire, Kent).
The full fixture list for the MCC tour of Nepal is as follows:
14th November: MCC v Combined Full and U19 Nepal XI (50 overs) – Kathmandu National Stadium
16th November: MCC v Pokhara CC (50 overs) – Pokhara CC
18th November: MCC v Combined Full and U19 Nepal XI (50 overs) – Kathmandu National Stadium
20th November: MCC v Nepal B (50 over) – Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
21st – 22nd November: MCC v Nepal – Kathmandu National Stadium
23rd November: MCC v Nepal (T20) – Kathmandu National Stadium