Worcestershire's Charlie Morris honoured to play for the MCC
- Published
Charlie Morris has best first-class figures of 5-54
Worcestershire fast bowler Charlie Morris is to add to his cricketing experience after being picked for a two-week MCC tour to South Africa.
Ex-England bowler Angus Fraser leads a 14-man squad including Warwickshire's Chris Wright to take part in one two-day game and five one-day matches.
"It's a big deal," Morris, 23, told BBC Hereford & Worcester.
"I've never played in South Africa. To play alongside some seasoned county professionals is a real privilege."
Morris, who has taken 106 first-class wickets over the last two summers with Worcestershire, added: "It will be hot and sunny and it will be nice to get away from the cold and rain over here.
The modern-day Marylebone Cricket Club |
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The MCC's touring programme currently takes in four men's tours a year, and one women's tour every other year, worked in conjunction with the demands of the International Cricket Council. |
The first overseas MCC tour was to Australia in 1903-04 under the captaincy of Pelham Warner. England sides then toured as the MCC from that tour until the Centenary Test at Melbourne in 1977. Touring teams continued to wear MCC colours until the New Zealand tour in 1997, but were known as "England XI" in non-international matches. |
"I'm here for Christmas. We then head off on the 27 December and I'm back for 10 January, in time for five days a week of winter training at Malvern College.
"I know I'm very lucky to play for cricket," added the Hereford-born paceman, who played Minor Counties with Devon and also played for Oxford MCCU while he was at university. "I don't take it for granted. Worcestershire are a fantastic club to play for."
Worcestershire currently have director of cricket Steve Rhodes and batsmen Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley on England Lions duty midway through a five-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan A in Dubai.
And Moeen Ali was part of the England senior tour party that flew out to South Africa for the four-match Test series which starts on Boxing Day.
Added to that, one of the MCC's four 50-over games will pitch Morris up against his Worcestershire team-mate Brett D'Oliveira, who is out there playing club cricket this winter.
"I hope to be playing against Brett," he added. "And, as we're going to have a couple of days at the Test matches, I also hope to catch up with Moeen and our new South African signing Kyle Abbott."
MCC squad: Angus Fraser (manager), Wes Durston (Derbys) capt, Neil Dexter, Ned Eckersley (Leics), Chris Wright (Warwick), Owais Shah (Hampshire), John Simpson (Middlesex), Charlie Morris (Worcs), Matthew Hunn (Kent), Tom Rash (Suffolk), George Thurstance (Bedfordshire), Graham Grace (Eastern Province), Jonathan Marsden (Derbyshire Academy, Oxford MCCU), Chris Peploe (Ealing), Andre Geldenhuys (Stellenbosch).
MCC tour dates
30 December v Crusaders (50 overs) - Crusaders Club
31 December v KwaZulu-Natal XI (50 overs) - Kingsmead
3-4 January v Western Province Cricket Association XI (2 days) - Vineyard Oval
6 January v St Augustine's CC (40 overs) - Basil D'Oliveira Sports Complex
7 January v Western Province Academy (50 overs) - Newlands
8 January v Western Province XI (50 overs) - Boland Park
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