Mervyn King, who served as governor of the Bank of England for ten years, will succeed Mark Nicholas as president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Nicholas has been proposed to the club's committee to assume the role of chair when his term ends in October, coinciding with King's appointment.

"It is an extraordinary honour to be asked by our current president to serve as the next president of MCC," King, who entered the House of Lords after his appointment as a life peer in 2014, said. "I look forward to serving the club and to promote the interests of our members and of the game so many of us love."

King and Nicholas co-founded the charity Chance to Shine in 2005, which annually engages with approximately 600,000 children and young adults, striving to "rejuvenate" cricket in state schools. King also held the position of president at Worcestershire in 2015 and 2016, considering his election to this role "one of the proudest moments" of his life.

Nicholas said: "Together we founded Chance to Shine in 2005. Since then, more than six million children, who would most likely not have played cricket have had the chance to do so. This makes us both so very proud. I can't wait to stand alongside him again.

"There are few better people to fulfil the role of MCC president. Mervyn's love of cricket knows no boundary; indeed, his love of sport extends to an equally enthusiastic enjoyment of both football and tennis.

"His calm authority and considerable wisdom carried the country through the global financial crisis of 2008 and now I feel sure that he will bring the MCC membership with him through a time of great interest and opportunity at the club."