The 2024 MCC touring programme continued today as a squad of men’s players departed Lord’s for Estonia.
A 13-man squad headed for its capital Tallinn where MCC is playing a series of fixtures against various opposition.
The squad is made up of MCC Playing Members who represent the Club in fixtures across the UK over the course of the summer.
Rupert Kitzinger, formerly of the Dorset National Counties team, will captain the side, and Alex Harris is the Tour Manager for the trip.
All the matches on the tour will take place at the Estonia National Cricket and Rugby Field in Tallinn, which has two pitches and are the only permanent full-sized grounds in the country.
The Club will open the tour with two T20 fixtures against the Tallinn Hippos. The Hippos are a side that were formed in 2018 and have enjoyed success in the Estonian men’s domestic competitions in recent seasons.
The following day will see MCC face the Estonian national team in two T20 matches. Estonia was awarded T20 International status by the ICC in 2018 and its men’s side are currently placed at 72nd in the world rankings.
Estonia hit the headlines recently during their tour of Cyprus when batter Sahil Chauhan hit the fastest ever T20I century, scoring a ton from 27 balls and breaking the record held by Chris Gayle of the West Indies. Chauhan finished unbeaten on 144 from 41 balls, including 18 sixes, which is also a T20I record.
The Tallinn Stallions will be the next opposition for MCC, another side who play in the Estonian domestic structure, before a 40-over match against NATO, a team comprised from the Forward Land Forces Battlegroup (Estonia).
The squad will then move into a more competitive environment as they take part in the Baltic Cup, with three T20s taking place over the second weekend of the tour. The tournament was relaunched in 2020 after a gap of several years, and this time will see national teams from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania competing. The tournament represents a rare occasion for the latter two countries to experience competitive cricket.
With the focus of any MCC overseas tour to assist with the development of cricket in the country, the squad will hold a coaching clinic with the Estonian women’s team, who also recently enjoyed a T20I tour of Cyprus and sit 71st in the ICC rankings.
"this trip provides an excellent mix of opposition for this group of Playing Members to play against and represent MCC abroad"
James Overy, Head of Cricket Projects at MCC, said: “Estonia has a progressive domestic cricketing structure and we’re really pleased to be able to take a squad to play against some of their strongest sides in the country.
“It will also be a great experience to play in a competitive environment in the Baltic Cup, and this trip provides an excellent mix of opposition for this group of Playing Members to play against and represent MCC abroad”.
The squad for the tour is: Alex Harris (Tour Manager), Rupert Kitzinger (Captain), William Bates, Rahul Bhome, Christopher Dring, Adam Hall, James Hendrickson, Andrew Leering, Caspar Mason, Prithvirajsinh Sarvaiya, Callum Sibley, Charles Sorenson, Sebastian Street, Robert Taylor, Fazley Wahab (Umpire).
The fixtures are as follows:
Saturday 27 July
Tallinn Hippos v MCC
x2 T20 matches
Sunday 28 July
Estonia v MCC
x2 T20 matches
Wednesday 31 July
Tallinn Stallions v MCC
T20 match
Thursday 1 August
NATO v MCC
40-over match
Saturday 3 August
Baltic Cup
x2 T20 matches
Sunday 4 August
Baltic Cup
T20 match
Overseas Tours