Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has today announced the line-up to take on County Champions Essex in the annual first-class Champion County Match, which this year is taking place in Barbados, with Middlesex's wicket-keeper batsman John Simpson named within the side.
Simpson shone in last year's Champion County clash, in the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium in Abu Dhabi, when he hit a crucial 49 in Middlesex's first innings, before hitting a match winning unbeaten knock of 89 in the second, to take Middlesex to victory by just one wicket inside three days against MCC.
The day/night fixture, regarded as the traditional curtain-raiser to the English county season, will be played with the pink Dukes ball under floodlights across four days at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. The match will take place between Tuesday 27th and Friday 30th March, and will follow the ECB North-South series.
MCC Head of Cricket John Stephenson said...
“This is a young, talented and exciting team which we’re very much looking forward to seeing take on Essex, and gaining exposure to the longer format of day/night cricket.
“This group boasts plenty of experience, not in only county cricket but also with several of the England sides. We are lucky to have Paul Collingwood and Fidel Edwards with us who are vastly experienced players at both international and domestic level. I’m looking forward to seeing them both in action when they will be able to pass on some of their knowledge to the younger players in the side.
“MCC is delighted to be hosting the Champion County match in Barbados, continuing our collaboration with the ECB. We hope that this match will provide a platform for the iconic Kensington Oval to go on to host a day/night Test Match in the near future.”
MCC XI to play Essex at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados:
Daniel Bell-Drummond (c) (Kent)
Brett D’Oliveira (Worcestershire)
Sam Northeast (Kent)
Sam Hain (Warwickshire)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Delray Rawlins (Sussex)
John Simpson (Middlesex)
Dom Bess (Somerset)
Matt Fisher (Yorkshire)
George Garton (Sussex)
Fidel Edwards (Hampshire)
