Stephen Fry becomes patron of MCC Foundation

Fry, who is also president of mental health charity, Mind, joins the foundation at a time when they are trying to diversify the game through workshops and training camps

• MCC lost out on £30m due to COVID crisis but plans afoot for 2021

The MCC has announced that English actor, comedian and cricket-lover, Stephen Fry, has become a patron of their foundation.

The foundation places a focus on those from disadvantaged backgrounds and given the challenges faced by young children through the coronavirus pandemic, there is also a focus on mental wellbeing.

Speaking of the announcement, which comes on World Mental Health Day, Fry said: “I am so proud to be a patron of the MCC Foundation. Cricket was one of the very first sports to recognise the need to address openly the issue of mental health, and the foundation is a flagbearer for this important cause in communities up and down the country. Our most celebrated cricketers are those that champion human characteristics, and it is those qualities that make the sport such a deep, enduring, and rich game.

“As more and more girls and boys are inspired by the magnificent summers of cricket we have recently had, the MCC Foundation will do all it can to encourage warmth, openness and empathy amongst its participants alongside a fierce competitive spirit and hunger to improve physical skills. Such a combination ensures not just fulfilled and successful cricketers but contributes to happy fulfilment off the field too.”

Other patrons of the MCC Foundation include: Claire Taylor, Mike Brearley, Mike Atherton and Mike Gatting.

_{Michael Atherton is a member of the MCC Foundation}

Sarah Fane OBE, the newly appointed director of the MCC Foundation, added: “As we strive to meet the evolving needs and realities of those for whom we provide, it is imperative that our patrons represent the direction and focus of our work.

"Stephen’s passion for cricket, his understanding of its positive influence on mental well-being, his own experience of mental illness and his outstanding leadership and work with charities in this field make him an ideal figurehead for the foundation.

“Beyond that, he will undoubtedly bring laughter and much needed positivity through his own very special humour. We are privileged to have him as our patron.”

The appointment of Fry comes after a busy summer for the foundation. Despite COVID, they partnered with mental health charities, the Charlie Waller Trust and Opening Up Cricket.

“We recognise the mental health issues faced by our young beneficiaries particularly at this time of uncertainty and challenge. We are therefore delighted, on World Mental Health Day, to partner with these two incredible charities to ensure that mental wellbeing sits at the heart of our programmes.”

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