Albury captain Ross Dixon is preparing for the experience of a lifetime after being picked to play for Marylebone Cricket Club at the MCG.
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Dixon will line up for the iconic English side against Melbourne Cricket Club on Friday, less than 72 hours after Australia retained the Ashes there with a thumping innings victory to go 3-0 up in the series.
Having previously played for the MCC at Lord's, he now follows in the footsteps of English great Mike Gatting and Australia's Will Pucovski as some of the players to have graced the famous fixture on previous tours.
"The MCC, in the UK, is an institution," Dixon said.
"They invented the game and they were the custodians of the game until the middle of the last century so the chance to represent them in Australia is great.
"I've watched cricket at the MCG so the chance to go out there and be stood in the middle of the ground and look up at the stands, the chance to take it in and to play, it's great source of pride for my parents and all the people back home.
![Ross Dixon will walk out to play at the MCG on Friday. Ross Dixon will walk out to play at the MCG on Friday.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/6cc5ef58-ba35-45c8-ac26-096eb368b503.jpg/r0_0_3096_1741_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I'm not sure there is a live stream but my Dad will find a way to follow it. He was with me the first time I played at Lord's and my Mum was with me the second time so they'd like to be here.
"They're planning to come out early next year but it'll be huge for them and they'll be immensely proud.
"I'm looking forward to playing and meeting the people from Melbourne Cricket Club, which is the institution here in Australia."
Dixon, who played his club cricket in the UK with Upton and Chester Boughton Hall, had been due to represent the MCC against a Bradman XI in Bowral two years ago but the bushfires meant that game had to be cancelled.
He'll attend a welcome dinner in the MCG Long Room on Thursday night before play starts, under normal one-day conditions, at 10am on New Year's Eve.
"It's a real testament to sticking in the game for as long as we all do as amateur cricketers," Dixon said.
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"Cricket's a frustrating game; some weeks it doesn't go your way and I feel like the opportunity to play these one-off games is a reflection of someone like myself who loves cricket, has played a lot of cricket and if you make yourself available, occasionally you get picked."
Dixon was Cricket Albury-Wodonga's champion player last year and he's led Albury to second place on the provincial ladder at the mid-term break, taking 13 wickets as the Billson Park outfit has compiled its best ever start to a season, winning seven games already.
Flying the flag for England during the Ashes has been a tough gig, however, with little to cheer during the first three Tests and a potential whitewash looming.
"The first time I came over, in 2014, was when England got knocked out of the World Cup by Bangladesh and I got a lot of stick for that," Dixon recalled.
"It's been particularly difficult this series because in the workplace, everyone seems to take great joy in our top-order getting out cheaply.
"But I'm looking forward to getting the MCC gear back on this week and having a good game of cricket against Melbourne.
"The game's got a huge amount of history, it's been played for the last 30 or 40 years so it will be a good spirited game but well-contested and we'll certainly be keen to knock over Melbourne at their home ground."
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