County Select XI, which will take on the Indian team in the lead-up to the England Test series, have announced a 14-man squad for the three-day warm-up matches. Warwichshire captain Will Rhodes will lead the team in the match to be played at Riverside Stadium from 20 July.
The 26-year-old Rhodes is a left-handed batsman who has played 65 first-class matches and has scored 3549 runs so far. He averages 35.49 and also has six centuries to his name. He has scored 452 runs in this county season and is accompanied by Haseeb Hameed, who has previously played three Tests for England and has scored 642 runs in the season so far.
Jake Libby, the highest run-scorer of the season so far, is also part of the team.
“The team was selected to provide some high potential talent from the county game, in consultation with first-class counties on the availability of players and the opportunity to test themselves against ICC World Test Championship finalists. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a release, county players will adjust to the team environment and undergo a Kovid test before playing in the match.
“The ECB would like to thank First-Class Counties for their continued support in providing players for this match and Durham County Cricket Club for providing facilities for this match,” the release said.
The match will be played inside closed doors.
Meanwhile, the Indian camp has been hit by the coronavirus with Rishabh Pant testing positive on July 8. A member of the support staff, training assistant/net bowler Dayanand Garani has also been infected.
While the Indian players have left for Durham, Pant will be allowed to join only after two negative RT-PCR tests come back.
“The BCCI medical team has identified B Arun, bowling coach, Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Easwaran as close contacts of Garani, who were at the team hotel on July 14 following RT-PCR tests. The four personnel will undergo a 10-day isolation and will stay in their respective rooms at the Team Hotel in London, the BCCI said in a statement on Thursday.
County Selection XI Team: Will Rhodes (Warwickshire – Captain), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Tom Aspinwell (Lancashire), Ethan Bamber (Middlesex), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Jack Carson (Sussex), Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Jake Libby (Worcestershire), Craig Miles (Warwickshire), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), James Rave (Somerset), Rob Yates (Warwickshire).
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