Emburey leads MCC tour

Middlesex coach John Emburey © Getty Images

Middlesex coach and former England spinner John Emburey will lead an MCC touring party which flies out to Bahrain next Tuesday.

Emburey, who played 64 Tests for England between 1978 and 1995, is captain of a 14-man squad which also includes Darren Bicknell, fresh from a Championship-winning season with Nottinghamshire, and Glamorgan paceman David Harrison.

MCC was invited by the Awali Cricket Club - the oldest cricket club in the Arabian Gulf - to undertake this tour, to celebrate its 70th anniversary and to help with the promotion of cricket in Bahrain.

MCC's head of cricket, John Stephenson, said: "We were very pleased to be invited to visit Bahrain by the Awali Cricket Club. MCC is committed to developing cricketing talent world-wide, both in conjunction with the International Cricket Council and as a club in our own right.

Darren Bicknell is part of the touring party © Getty Images

“I am delighted that John Emburey is leading this tour and that we are able to include players of the calibre of Darren Bicknell and David Harrison. I am sure that the tour will be a rewarding experience for all involved."

ACC's president, Kevin Lovegrove, said: "It is with immense pride that we welcome MCC, with all its history, to share in our celebration of 70 years of cricket at Awali Cricket Club.

“The Bapco MCC Cricket Festival will take place at the newly refurbished Awali Oval and pavilion, which is currently without a doubt the best cricket facility on the island of Bahrain.

“We are expecting a large crowd of local cricket-lovers, who will relish the prospect of seeing their local favourites in action against such prestigious opposition."

This is MCC's final overseas tour of 2005. Since January, the club has sent teams to Namibia and Uganda, Singapore and Malaysia, Finland and Estonia, France, Japan and Canada.

MCC touring party: Bob Baxter (manager), John Emburey (captain), Darren Bicknell, Jamie Butler, Alastair Fraser, Ian Flanagan, Ismail Dawood, Sanjay Patel, Richard Greatorex, Cliff Dare, Mark Patterson, Stuart Stoneman, David Harrison, Barry Dudleston (umpire).