KP, Lee, Murali confirmed for Lord's festivities
The Rest of the World XI vs MCC XI exhibition match at Lord's in early July will feature former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, it has been confirmed, but he will play for the ROW side and not the 'home' team.
The Rest of the World XI vs MCC XI exhibition match at Lord's in early July will feature former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, it has been confirmed, but he will play for the ROW side and not the 'home' team.
Former Australia paceman Brett Lee was also confirmed for the game, playing for the MCC, while Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan will play alongside Pietersen under the leadership of fellow spin king Shane Warne.
Warne and Pietersen used to play alongside each other for Hampshire in 2007 and have remained firm friends, while Lee was granted MCC honourary membership last year.
Lee said: "I was very proud to have been given MCC Honorary Life Membership last year and it will be a pleasure to help the Club celebrate the Lord's Bicentenary by playing in this match.
"Lord's is a great place to play cricket and this is a fantastic opportunity for me. There are a lot of familiar faces involved in both teams and I'm looking forward to celebrating such a special occasion with them."
Muralitharan added: "It's a great honour to have been asked to take part in this historic fixture, and I can't wait to get back to Lord's for the match.
"I thoroughly enjoyed playing for MCC in the UAE recently and it's very exciting to be involved with the Club again."
Pietersen said: "I was delighted to be asked to be involved in this game and the chance to share the Lord's pitch with some of best players in the world is one I was delighted to accept.
Shane Warne is a good friend of mine and I've enjoyed playing alongside him before so I'm sure it'll be great fun to do it again. Playing at Lord's is always very special and I'm looking forward to celebrating the 200th anniversary of what is a fantastic ground."
MCC Head of Cricket, John Stephenson, said of the three confirmed signings: "We are very pleased to confirm that Brett, Kevin and Muttiah will be playing in this match.
"It is testament to the status of Lord's as the Home of Cricket that such quality players are keen to come and celebrate its Bicentenary with MCC, and we look forward to welcoming them back to the ground alongside the raft of world-class players we have already confirmed for this match."
Latest
-
Test cricketNkrumah Bonner says footwork is key to West Indies overcoming spin
The West Indies have little time to turn things around.
-
The AshesWhy Shane Warne thinks Cricket Australia have opened themselves up to ridicule
Are Australia becoming a laughing stock?
-
Test cricketIndia on top in tight first Test battle against the Black Caps
Axar Patel’s five-for put India back on top.
-
Test cricketPakistan bat themselves into control of Test against Bangladesh
Pakistan’s openers were unmoved.
-
County CricketMichael Vaughan apologises for hurt Azeem Rafiq has gone through in racism case
Vaughan has been taken off the BBC’s Ashes coverage amid the racism claims.
-
AustraliaOn this day: Australia batter Phillip Hughes dies at age of 25 after being struck by ball
Hughes died from a brain haemorrhage after being hit by a ball while batting two days previously.
-
Women's CricketWomen’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2021 called off over COVID-19 fears
The qualifiers will now be decided according to the team rankings.
-
ODI cricketWest Indies to blood young stars on white ball tour of Pakistan
Allrounder Odean Smith is among the uncapped players in the squad.
-
EnglandECB chief Tom Harrison: Cricket must look at alcohol culture
The ECB released details of the game-wide action plan to tackle racism and discrimination in the sport on Friday.
-
EnglandECB unveils action plan to tackle discrimination, what is next for cricket?
The game-wide response to racism was finally published on Friday after two delays this week.