Former England selector Ed Smith has been named MCC’s next president. He will serve a 12-month term, taking up the post on October 1 this year. His appointment was announced by the current president, Lord King of Lothbury, at the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Lord’s. Following his appointment, Smith expressed his delight and vowed to serve MCC to the best of his ability. “It is a huge honour to succeed Lord King as president of MCC. Lord’s has been a special part of my life – as a cricket fan, a player and then as a selector. I am deeply committed to serving the Club – and the whole game – to the best of my ability,” he said in a statement released by the MCC.
The current MCC president, Lord King, said, “The choice of my successor meets the twin criteria of being an outstanding first-class cricketer who played for England and a highly intelligent author and educator who is ideally equipped to help MCC navigate the challenges ahead. It is with enormous pleasure that I nominate Ed Smith as the President of MCC from 1 October 2025.”
During his playing days, Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and England in a career that spanned 13 seasons. During this period, he scored nearly 13,000 first-class runs, including 34 centuries. He also played for Cambridge University, graduating with a double first in History.
After announcing his retirement from the game in 2008, he embarked on a career in the media and wrote five books. He has also worked as a presenter on both radio and television.
In 2018, he became chief selector for the England men’s team. During his stint that lasted for three years, England won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time and enjoyed success across all formats.
Along with this, Smith is also involved in academia, as co-founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities (ISH), which has a mission to nurture and inspire sport’s current and future leaders. ISH teaches the MA Leadership in Sport in partnership with Loughborough University London.
During his one-year tenure, the Lord’s will stage the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and will host its first women’s Test cricket for the first time between India and England.
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