ECB names players to represent County Select XI in warm-up game against India, match to be played behind closed doors

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday named a 14-player squad that has been selected to represent the 'County Select XI' for a three-day warm-up game against India. Ahead of the five-Test series against England, India will play participate in this warm-up fixture starting July 20 at the Emirates Riverside in Durham. The ECB announced that the match will be played behind closed doors.

"Young Lions head coach Richard Dawson will oversee a County Select XI to play India at the Emirates Riverside in a three-day match, starting on Tuesday 20 July," the ECB said in a statement.

"The match will be played behind closed doors and will form part of India’s warm-up schedule ahead of the LV= Insurance Test Series."

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The team will be coached by Richard Dawson and captained by captain of Warwickshire, Will Rhodes. The squad includes James Bracey, who recently made his debut for Gloucestershire, and Haseeb Hameed of Nottinghamshire. Hameed had, in fact, made his Test debut for England against India back in the year 2016.

"The squad was selected after consulting with the first-class counties on player availability and to provide some of the high-potential talent from across the county game with the opportunity to test themselves against the ICC World Test Championship finalists," it added.

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The board informed that all 14 players will gather in a safe environment and undergo Covid tests before being cleared to play. On Thursday, two members of the Indian cricket contingent – wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant and throwdown specialist Dayanand Garani – had tested positive for Covid-19 and are not travelling with the Indian team to Durham. The practice match will be telecasted live on Durham's official YouTube channel.

"The county players will bridge into a team environment and undergo Covid testing before being cleared to play in the match. The ECB would like to place on record its thanks to the first-class counties for their continued support to make players available for this fixtures and to Durham County Cricket Club for providing facilities for this match to be staged," it further stated.

County Select XI squad: 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 Rew (Somerset), Rob Yates (Warwickshire).