Absolute honour which I accept with utmost humility: Harbhajan on life membership of MCC
Oct 20, 2021
London [UK], October 20 : Harbhajan Singh has stated that it is an "absolute honour" to be awarded life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
India's Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath on Tuesday joined 16 other cricketers who were given the Honorary Life Membership (HLM) this year.
Indian duo Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath both enjoyed fine international careers. Harbhajan is India's third-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 417 dismissals in 103 Tests, while Srinath is one of the country's greatest ODI players, having taken 315 wickets and ended his career as India's second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs.
Taking to Twitter, Harbhajan Singh tweeted: "Over the years, I have always enjoyed playing at the Lord's whether it's been for India or as a visiting county team player against Middlesex. MCC's "Life Membership" is an absolute honour which I accept with utmost humility. Thank you MCC."
Eight of the 12 Test-playing nations are represented in this year's list, which includes some of the most recognisable names in the modern game.
England's leading Test run-scorer, Sir Alastair Cook, is joined by fellow countrymen Ian Bell and Marcus Trescothick, totalling more than 39,000 international runs between them. A fourth England star, Sarah Taylor, returned to the field this year, appearing in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Charlotte Edwards Cup and The Hundred, and is recognised as one of the finest wicket-keepers of her generation.
Four South African legends have been awarded Honorary Life Membership, with Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel all receiving the honour. Kallis's 13,289 Test runs puts him third on the all-time run-scoring list.
Alex Blackwell and Damien Martyn of Australia are also included. Allrounder Blackwell won over 250 caps for her country across all formats of the games, and batter Martyn scored almost 10,000 international runs.
Ian Bishop, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan all represent West Indies. Bishop took 161 wickets in just 43 matches, while Chanderpaul is West Indies' most capped Test player (164) and only seven players have scored more than his 11,867 runs. Sarwan racked up 15 Test centuries, and his 291 against England in 2009 equalled the highest individual score by a West Indian.
Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka took 433 Test wickets in a career spanning almost two decades, and features in the top ten of all-time Test wicket-takers.
