Sam Billings and Adam Riley join Alastair Cook in MCC squad
Thursday 22nd January 2015
Kent duo Sam Billings and Adam Riley will join England Test skipper Alastair Cook in the MCC squad to play in the Champion County match and Emirates T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Cook will use the trip in March to gain match practice ahead of England’s three-match Test series against the West Indies in April.
The MCC squad will arrive in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 17 March before taking part in the Emirates T20 tournament on Friday 20 March in Dubai which also features Lancashire, Sussex and Yorkshire.
The four-day Champion County match – the annual curtain-raiser for the English county season – starts on Sunday 22 March and will be a day/night match between MCC and Yorkshire, played with a pink ball under the MCC Spirit of Cricket banner.
Cook will open the batting alongside new Middlesex signing Nick Compton, who will captain MCC with Michael Carberry, James Hildreth and Graham Onions also included in the line-up.
This will be Cook’s seventh appearance for MCC, his most famous coming as a 14-year-old in 1998 when he was drafted in to an MCC side who were one short and went on to score a century against Bedford School 1st XI.
The squad also features three alumni from MCC Universities in Sam Billings (Loughborough), Adam Riley (Loughborough) and Zafar Ansari (Cambridge). Billings, Riley and Surrey fast bowler Matt Dunn, who also features in the MCC squad, have recently returned from England Lions duty in South Africa.
India batsman Yuvraj Singh and Nepal captain Paras Khadka will also be part of the MCC side for the Emirates T20 tournament. The 27-year-old has captained his country since 2009, leading them through a number of ICC World Cricket League Divisions and eventually to last year’s ICC World Twenty20 competition in Bangladesh.
In June 2014, Nepal were granted T20 International status by the ICC. Next week, MCC will announce the name of an international T20 star who will also be part of the side for the Emirates T20 tournament.
John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket, said: “This is certainly the strongest team we’ve ever selected for this fixture and it’s great to see a good number of MCC Universities alumni involved too.
"There’s an excellent blend of youth and experience, and I’m sure Nick Compton will lead the group expertly. "Of course to have a batsman of Alastair Cook’s calibre involved shows the standing this fixture has in professional cricket and I’m delighted to have him at the top of the order."
Regarding the playing of the Champion County fixture in Abu Dhabi, Stephenson added: “We are pleased to be returning to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for a sixth year as the facilities are excellent for first class cricket and have produced some very competitive matches in recent years.
"MCC has played a big part in exploring the possibilities of day/night Test cricket played with a pink ball and we are hoping to see a day/night Test between Australia and New Zealand later this year.
"I’m sure these matches in March will show, once again, that pink ball cricket can re-invigorate the longer form of the game.”
The MCC squad for the Champion County match and Emirates T20 tournament: Alastair Cook (Essex), Nick Compton (captain, Middlesex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), James Hildreth (Somerset), Zafar Ansari (Surrey), Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire), Sam Billings (Kent), Matt Dunn (Surrey), Graham Onions (Durham),Adam Riley (Kent),Chris Rushworth (Durham), Yuvraj Singh (India,Emirates T20 tournament only)Paras Khadka (Nepal, tbc Emirates T20 tournament only).
Tour dates: Emirates T20 tournament – MCC, Yorkshire, Lancashire & Sussex (Friday 20, March), Dubai, The 7evens Ground MCC v Yorkshire – Champion County match (Sunday 22 – Wednesday 25 March) Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
See Adam Riley and Sam Billings in action this summer with a Kent Cricket Membership.
Tickets to Kent v Australiaon June 25-28, the first game of the Ashes Tour, are included in Kent All Rounder and Championship Plus Memberships and an option for Six Pack package holders.
Members can also buy up to six guest tickets before the fixture goes on general sale in March 2015.