MCC Touring Party Player Profiles

President - Robin Marlar attended Cambridge University and played cricket for Sussex between 1951 and 1968.  After retiring from the game, he worked as a cricket journalist and a headhunter.  He became MCC President in October 2005 and the Tour to China & Hong Kong is the third MCC Tour that he has supported in 2006, having already been to Argentina and The Netherlands as a spectator.  Very much an active President, he was instrumental in the arrangement of three new MCC fixtures in 2006 – against Afghanistan, Europe and London Universities.  His term as President expires on 30th September but his legacy will remain.

Manager - Julian Vallance is the Chairman of the MCC Membership and General Purposes Committee and formerly was the Chairman of the Tours sub-committee. Born and bred in Yorkshire, (one of several in the tour party!), he played his cricket for Harrogate CC and the Yorkshire League Representative XI, as well as nearly 300 games for MCC.  He has now retired from a career in retailing and in construction services sub-contracting.  He is an experienced tourist with MCC and sometime golfer.

Captain - Min Patel has played for Kent for 18 years and he represented England in two Test Matches against India in 1996.  He has taken over 600 first class wickets with his left arm orthodox spin bowling.  He has also scored 16 first class half-centuries.  He is a member of the Tours sub-committee and is an experienced tourist with MCC.

Steven Atherton is a left handed batsman and a slow left arm spin bowler who plays at Ealing CC, with whom he has won the Middlesex league 4 times in 10 seasons, once as captain in 1991. He played for Richmond CC for 2 years and represented the Middlesex league side in 1994/5 and the Middlesex Cricket Board in 2000.  Born in Birmingham, he played at Walsall CC before moving to London.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Simon Cook is a right handed batsman and a right hand fast-medium bowler.  He signed for Kent in the 2005 season after 8 years with Middlesex.  He has taken 237 first class wickets, with best bowling of 8 for 63.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Giles Ecclestone is a left handed batsman and a right arm medium bowler who has played for Saffron Waldon CC for 26 years.  He represented Essex Schools from the age of 11 and joined the county staff full time upon leaving university.  He has also played for England amateurs and Cambridgeshire Minor Counties.  He is a director of a telecommunications company in Suffolk and is married with 3 children.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Aamir Farooque is a top order right handed batsman and a right arm off spin bowler.  He has played in the Midlands for West Bromwich Dartmouth, Harborne and currently plays for Smethwick Cricket Club.  He has also played for the Warwickshire Cricket Board, Staffordshire and Herefordshire. He represented England Amateurs in 1993.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Patrick Fordham is a wicket keeper and a middle order batsman.  He has now retired from league cricket after captaining Bradford and Bingley in the Bradford league.  He spent 11 years in Hong Kong and captained them in the ICC Trophy in 1994 and 1997, so he is looking forward to returning there on his first MCC Tour.

Peter Hepworth is a right handed batsman and right arm off-break bowler.  He made 59 first-class appearances for Leicestershire between 1988 and 1994, in which he made 3 centuries.  Still a regular player for Barnsley and for MCC, he has toured Nepal, Canada, France, USA and Belgium. 

William Hodson is a right handed batsman and a medium pace bowler, who is finishing off an MA in Classics at Durham University, where he has been for the last four years.  He has toured with MCC to Italy and when plays for Castleford CC.

Richard King is a right handed batsman and a left arm fast medium bowler.  He spent a year at Loughborough University before taking up the game professionally with Northants and playing club cricket in Australia.  After being released by Northants, he has returned to Loughborough, where he is part of the MCC University Centre of Cricketing Excellence.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Tim Lester is a right handed opening batsman who has played for Oxfordshire before moving to Australia, where he plays for Sydney University.  He is a teacher and is in charge of cricket at one of Sydney's largest boys' schools, where he claims to be trying to subvert from within!  He occasionally writes articles on food and wine.  He has a son, not yet a year old.  This is his first MCC tour.

Max McAlister is a left arm medium/fast bowler and middle order right handed batsman.  He attended Durham University and is currently living in China, studying Mandarin and working part time. He has not managed to play cricket in China yet and is very much looking forward to playing in the Orient.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Tim Saye is a middle order batsman and a fast medium right hand bowler.  He plays for Andover CC and is in the Wiltshire squad.  He was educated at Millfield School and Durham University (the latter seemingly a hot-bed of MCC players!) and is a personal trainer.  Tim will celebrate his 25th birthday on the last day of the tour.  This is his first MCC Tour.

Simon Smith is a right handed batsman and a wicket-keeper.  He was capped by Scotland in 2004 and made his first class debut against Ireland in the ICC Intercontinental cup of that year.  He has just been named as a reserve for the World Cup.  He plays for Grange CC and he is a development officer for Cricket Scotland.  This is his first MCC Tour.

John Reed is the Club's umpire on this tour.  He has been a member of MCC since the mid 1980's.  He has stood in 3 matches at Lord's and has been a Minor Counties umpire since 1993.  He has previously toured with MCC to the east coast of the USA in 2004.

Brian Mulholland has been on several MCC tours as a scorer. He is a Qualified Member of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers and is Chairman of the Membership Assessment Appeals Panel and Deputy Chairman of the Scorers Board. Brian is also a Senior Instructor for scoring and is currently scoring for Chorleywood Cricket Club, MCC, ECB and Hertfordshire County Cricket Club.

Graham Morris is a freelance photographer who specializes in cricket, with regular photographs in The Times, The Sunday Times and various cricket magazines.  He is also Chairman of the Cricket Writer's Club.  As a player, he was an opening bowler but, as the years have ticked by, he has become a wicket-keeper/batsman and he still plays occasionally for the Fleet Street Strollers.