Anjum Chopra – First Indian woman cricketer for honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)

Anjum Chopra becomes the first woman cricketer from India to be awarded an honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

About Anjum Chopra: 

Anjum Chopra is an Indian Women Cricketer. She was born in New Delhi. A sports girl from the start, the first time she stepped on to the ground was at the age of 9.

• Played her first friendly match with college girls team at the inter college level scoring 20 runs and taking 2 wickets. Later the same year she was selected to play for New Delhi in the under −15 tournament
• A sports person, she played various sports at an early age. Represented her school and college team in Athletics, Basketball, swimming. She represented Delhi State team in basketball nationals also.
• Made her debut inOne-day Internationals , in the early age of 17, on 12 February 1995 against New Zealand at Christchurch,New Zealand, and made her debut in Test cricket a few months later, against England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 17 November 1995.
• Only in her second series for India the same year, she was awarded ‘player of the series’ in theone day internationals against the visiting England cricket team scoring runs at an average of 67.5 winning the series 3–2
• She is a left-handed batswoman who bowls right-arm medium-fast. She has played in 12 Tests and 116 ODIs.
• Charting out a niche in the male dominated sport in the country, Anjum has broken the glass ceiling to be recognised as the face of women’s cricket. A player, captain, consultant, motivational speaker, author, actor she has worn many hats. A go getter and a perfectionist she has been successful in achieving the desired results for the nation and elevating women’s sports.

About MCC :

Marylebone Cricket Club(MCC) is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787. It owns, and is based at, Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood, London NW8.

• MCC was formerly the governing body of cricket both in England and Wales as well as worldwide. In 1993 many of its global functions were transferred to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its English governance passed to the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) at the same time.
• MCC revised the Laws of Cricket in 1788 and continues to reissue them and remains the copyright holder. Since its foundation, the club has raised its own teams which are essentially occasional and have never taken part in any formal competition.
• Depending on the quality of the opposition in any given match, MCC has always had major status: i.e., it is classified as anunofficial first-class team by substantial sources from 1863 to 1894 and classified as an official first-class team from 1895 by itself and the County Championship clubs, It has never played in a List A 
• MCC teams play many matches against minor opposition and, on these occasions, they relinquish major status. Traditionally, to mark the beginning of each English season in April, MCC plays the reigningCounty Champions at Lord’s, this being a first-class match.
• MCC sides regularly tour overseas to all cricket-playing nations and to developing ones as well, e.g.Afghanistan in 2006, and the club has an extensive fixture list every season throughout Britain, particularly with schools.