John Stephenson
Quick Facts
Biography
John Patrick Stephenson (born 14 March 1965) is an English former first-class cricketer, who is currently Head of Cricket at Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, commented on Stephenson's Test match appearance, "by the time John Stephenson was picked in 1989, England's selection policy resembled one of those bingo machines in which numbered balls are blown up a tube at random".Bateman added, "Stephenson, an intelligent, useful all-round cricketer, became player No. 29 used by England in a shambolic series – a post-war record".
Life and career
He was educated at Felsted School and Durham University. While an undergraduate he was awarded a palatinate for cricket in 1986. He had a long county cricket career as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler for Essex (1985–1994 and 2002–2004) and Hampshire (1995–2001). He also captained Hampshire between 1996 and 1997.
Stephenson was a One Test Wonder, playing only one Test match against Australia at The Oval in 1989, though later in his career he was twice picked to tour with the England A (to Zimbabwe 1989–90 and West Indies 1991–92).
He was appointed Head of Cricket at the MCC in mid-2004, and thereafter appeared only in a handful of MCC matches. He is responsible for MCC's playing and touring programmes, the strategic management of the playing and practice areas at Lord's, and supervision of the MCC Young Cricketers programme.