LONDON, Sept 30: Former England batsman Tom Graveney has been named president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Graveney, who replaces Charles Fry after he took over as chairman , said in a statement: "I am absolutely thrilled...it's the most famous, as well as the most active, cricket club in the world.

"It's a particular pleasure to be starting my term of office at such an interesting period in MCC's history. "I first played at Lord's more than half a century ago, but I can't recall a time when there was so much going on at the ground.

"From the multi-million pound pavilion refurbishment project to the development of the country's first portable pitches, it's a truly fascinating time to become club president."

The 77-year-old Graveney, who played 79 Tests averaging 44.38 and whose nephew David is England's chairman of selectors, begins his tenure on Thursday. Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, a former England women's captain who successfully campaigned to get the MCC to accept women as club members in 1998, becomes the first woman to serve on the main committee in the MCC's 217-year history.

Leading Australian umpire Darrell Hair is to become the MCC's laws and umpiring consultant. Hair hit the headlines in 1995 when calling Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing. -Reuters