Matthew Fleming, the former Kent and England allrounder and Green Jackets subaltern, currently an MCC Committee member, is going to Afghanistan to identify ways in which Marylebone Cricket Club can help to further develop the sport in the region. The four-day trip will culminate on Sunday, November 18, with a visit to the National Training Camp at the Afghanistan National Cricket Academy. Taj Malik, Afghanistan’s National Coach said, “We are very proud that Mr. Fleming should come to Kabul for MCC. MCC have been very helpful. We can show him lots of progress.”

Mr. Fleming, who sits on the main MCC Committee, is being sent by the club to investigate how MCC can strengthen its links with cricket in Afghanistan in accordance with its worldwide remit to help promote the game.

Speaking ahead of his trip, Mr. Fleming said: "I'm looking forward to seeing for myself how cricket in Afghanistan is developing, and how MCC can help with this process.  With my experience in the Armed Forces, I am all too aware of the effects a conflict has on a country's people. If the sport can help to become a positive, motivating factor for the increasingly cricket-loving population of Afghanistan, that can only be a good thing."

MCC's Secretary & Chief Executive, Keith Bradshaw, said: "Developing cricket worldwide is a core remit of MCC, and it's one we take very seriously. Matthew is the perfect ambassador for us to send out to Afghanistan. With his knowledge of the region, and of course his cricketing experience, he'll be able to investigate the ways in which the club can demonstrably help to develop cricket in the country."

Filed November 13 2007