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The England fast bowler Steven Finn has capped a remarkable maiden year of international cricket by being named as the ICC’s Emerging Player at their annual awards ceremony in Bengaluru.Finn has claimed 32 wickets at 23.21 in his eight Test appearances against Bangladesh and Pakistan, including consecutive five-wicket hauls at Lord’s and Old Trafford in May and June. He made his debut in Chittagong back in March, having flown out to Bangladesh only days earlier as an injury replacement for Graham Onions.Receiving his award from legendary West Indies bowler Joel Garner, Finn said: “It’s a great honour, and one that I wasn’t expecting. It’s been a great honour just to play Test cricket for my country over the past 12 months, because Tests are the highest level of the game, and though it’s been tough at times, there’s the joy of representing your country.”Finn’s 6’7″ frame, allied to a solid temperament and an intelligent game-brain, has made him an integral part of an England bowling attack that has secured victory in seven of their last eight Tests, and even at the age of 21, he is regarded as integral to England’s hopes of successfully defending the Ashes for the first time since 1986-87.”We are very confident going into the Ashes,” said Finn. “We are very well prepared, and though we are going in as underdogs, we have a very settled side.”Finn was one of two Englishmen to make the final shortlist for the awards, alongside his team-mate Graeme Swann, who was nominated for the Player of the Year category. He beat Pakistan’s Umar Akmal, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and Australia’s Tim Paine to the Emerging Player title, which was won last year by the Australia fast bowler, Peter Siddle.The Emerging Player of the Year Award was one of nine individual prizes given at this year’s ICC Awards. Players eligible for this award must be under 26 years of age at the start of the voting period (August 24, 2009) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 ODIs before the start of the voting period.

Michael Hussey’s comments on Thursday about being coerced into staying on for the final stages of the Champions League have been followed by Australia losing the services of Doug Bollinger, Hussey’s Chennai Super Kings team-mate, for the second Test with an abdominal strain. In this case though, it is hard to blame the scheduling of the tournament, since it was the India-Australia Test series that was shoe-horned into the calendar at the last minute.Ricky Ponting, who is set to play his 148th Test, is no fan of the itinerary, and echoed Hussey’s words on the eve of the game. “It was definitely hard on Doug, and Mike Hussey, and even MS Dhoni for that matter,” he said. “I think you could see from his [Dhoni’s] performance in the last game that he’d been feeling the pinch a little bit as well. It definitely wasn’t ideal preparation for those guys coming into a Test match but I know from the Australian players’ side that they were doing everything in their power to try and arrive earlier. There are a lot of good lessons that can be learnt from the last week as far as our preparation goes, and probably even for the Indian players. All we can do is try and get our case across, and I know the individual players concerned have certainly done that.”If it is not the proliferation of Twenty20 tournaments that is causing players to break down, it is thoughtless scheduling. With the calendar so cramped and administrators keen to squeeze in as many games as possible, back-to-back Tests have become the norm rather than the exception. In subcontinental weather conditions, it takes a huge physical toll on the players.”It is hard work for the bowlers, there is no doubt about that, when you have back-to-back games,” Ponting said. “We have made sure we have looked after our guys as well as we possibly could. We had a travel day and an early start the day after the Test. The guys didn’t do any bowling that day. Hilfenhaus, Johnson and Bollinger didn’t do anything yesterday. Nathan Hauritz had a decent bowl yesterday. The quicks will do a little bit of bowling today but we’ll make sure their recovery is as good as it can be going into the game tomorrow.”Dhoni was more sanguine about the situation. “We tried to make use of the three-day break in the best possible manner,” he said. “The first day goes as a travelling day and you rest and recover after that. Yesterday, we had a long practice session. Now we had a slightly lighter session. Nowadays, we have a three-day break before every Test match so it is the same. It is very important to rest rather than practice. The body needs rest and it can help you more.”Nothing endures but change, said Heraclitus, and Dhoni’s team have taken those words to heart over the last year or so. The Bangalore Test will be the 10th since the start of the last home season that India have entered with at least one change to their side. That they have won seven and lost only two of those games, despite the lack of continuity, is testament to the spine of a team blessed with talent and experience.After a high-scoring draw in Ahmedabad last year against Sri Lanka, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra were dropped, with Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha coming in for Kanpur. By the time the team got to Mumbai for the final Test, Gautam Gambhir had dropped out to attend his sister’s wedding, leaving Murali Vijay to take his place.Early in the new year, both Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh missed the Chittagong Test through injury, while Mishra came back for Ojha. VVS Laxman and Sreesanth hobbled out for the Dhaka Test, while a broken jaw ruled Rahul Dravid out of the subsequent South Africa series.Laxman and Yuvraj Singh also missed the first Test of that series, where Wriddhiman Saha and S Badrinath made their debuts. Laxman’s return in Kolkata was one of the catalysts for a series-levelling win. By the time the team got to Galle in July, Zaheer Khan was on the treatment table, giving Abhimanyu Mithun a chance to make his debut. At the SSC a week later, it was Suresh Raina that got his first cap for the indisposed Yuvraj, while Gambhir’s injury gave Vijay another chance.With Harbhajan missing the final game at the P Sara Oval, it was left to Mishra and Ojha to shoulder the spin burden, and Laxman, dodgy back and all, to lead the successful final-day run-chase. Zaheer’s return to the fray in Mohali meant another change, and the theme continues in Bangalore with the enforced absences of Gambhir and Ishant.The last three years have been memorable ones for Test cricket, with several games attaining classic status. South Africa chased down over 400 in Perth, England’s last-wicket saved Tests in Cardiff and Centurion, while India’s bowlers just about prevailed despite Hashim Amla’s brilliance in Kolkata. Mohali was the last in a welcome line of games that have mocked at the perception of Test cricket being boring, but as both teams in this series are finding out, the entertainment comes at a cost.Brett Lee, Andrew Flintoff and Shane Bond have already gone, while Shoaib Akhtar struggles to wheeze his way through a four-over spell. From the days of Demon Spofforth, fast bowlers have been an integral part of Test cricket’s narrative. If those that run the game aren’t more sensible with the scheduling though, they could soon be pushed to the fringes, and even the 70-odd Tests that Lee and Flintoff played before their bodies gave way will be a distant dream.Michael Clarke spoke recently of how each individual needed to assess his priorities. The first men to look in the mirror, though, should be the administrators, who speak of the sanctity of Test cricket and then do everything in their power to undermine its 21st century renaissance.

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opening batsman, has undergone surgery to treat his troublesome left wrist. His recovery will put him out of action for the next six to eight weeks, starting with the ODI series against New Zealand.The 90-minute procedure, which involved the removal of bone fragments from the base of his left third metacarpal, was performed at the Glenferrie private hospital in Melbourne. Bangladesh physio Michael Henry confirmed the success of the procedure. “The recovery takes around two months in such cases. However, we will have a clearer idea once we get a detailed update from Dr. Greg Hoy [who performed the surgery]. Tamim is definitely out of the ODI series against New Zealand next month as he will be going through a rehabilitation programme,” Henry said.Tamim first picked the injury in November last year and subsequent scans revealed a hairline fracture. Despite being advised against batting, he continued to play and aggravated the injury during a domestic match. Tamim fought the pain barrier to play in the Lord’s Test against England, despite struggling with the injury throughout the tour. The Bangladesh Cricket Board eventually decided to send him to Australia for a review, during which the surgery was prescribed.

Review of the day
Andrew Strauss laughed knowingly on the eve of the Test when asked if he was learning whose judgment he could trust in matters of UDRS referrals, and whose he could not. On the evidence of the day’s first over, Strauss had presumably bracketed James Anderson in the former category, seeing as he agreed to take a second view of a somewhat speculative lbw appeal from only the second ball of the day. In fairness, it pitched in line and only just skimmed over the top of middle stump, but given that the onfield decision would have stood in the event of a borderline verdict, it was still a bit of a waste.Review of the day Mk 2
Talking of which, Strauss himself had an unfortunate brush with the big screen when his own turn came to bat later in the day. He had moved along to 25, the highest score at the time on another crazy day, when Amir zipped a full-length delivery back towards his body and through to the keeper amid a blur of deflections. England’s captain stood his ground, albeit somewhat sheepishly, as Zulqarnain Haider – showing impressive judgment for a debutant with a first-ball duck to his name – insisted on using a review. Sure enough, the ball had clearly jagged off Strauss’s gloves on its way past his body, and he was sent on his way to a mild ripple of admonition.Debutant of the day
That moment aside, the most memorable day of Zulqarnain’s life soon ended up as one he’d prefer to forget. Shortly before lunch he snicked an off-stump delivery from Broad to become the 55th batsman to make a golden duck in their first Test innings, and in the evening session he dropped a leg-side catch off Kevin Pietersen that was the exact replica of the only thing that his predecessor behind the stumps, Kamran Akmal, had got right in the course of his shocking match at Trent Bridge. Then as now, the bowler was Umar Gul, who zipped one off the seam to find the inside edge. But where Kamran clung on, Haider made a hash.Comeuppance of the day
After a flawless performance from the cordon at Trent Bridge, Graeme Swann – aka Mr Second Slip – had a premonition of events to come. “It was the worst possible start we could have done,” he said during the build-up to the second Test, “because now everyone thinks were are going to catch everything!” Lo and behold, who should bring an end to their 100% series record than Swann, who was fooled by a Stuart Broad delivery that squared up Umar Amin and squirted off a leading edge straight into his midriff … and out again. One ball later, Amin edged once again, but this time for four as the ball looped clear over the cordon’s head.Clanger of the day
At least Swann could say that his let-off wasn’t costly, as Pakistan were already six-down at the time, and the reprieved Amin was dismissed four overs later. Imran Farhat, on the other hand, had fewer reasons to be exonerated. Not only were his bowlers busting a gut to keep their team in the game, having extracted both openers on 44, and created this next opportunity 10 runs later, but he had committed a near-identical sin at Trent Bridge last week, when he dropped England’s centurion, Eoin Morgan, early on the second day. This time the sinned-against bowler was Asif, who did well not to lamp his team-mate in his follow-through, as a regulation nick went to ground at first slip.Shot of the day
Umar Akmal does not believe in waiting for the ball. He believes there is no ball that is unplayable. Already he had picked off six runs including a clipped four off the first two balls he faced. So when Broad pitched full but on an unthreatening length slightly outside leg stump, Umar used his strong and supple wrists to flick it over deep square-leg for a surprising six, half an hour before the lunch break. It was an aberration in an otherwise perfect nose-dive of an innings, as he soon ended up as part of Pakistan’s lunchtime scoreline of 37 for 6.Run-rate of the day
Until Akmal arrived to apply a relative measure of humpty to the innings, Pakistan had limped along to 12 runs for three wickets in 14.2 overs. England, by contrast had no such agonies when their chance came soon after lunch. By the time Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook had picked off a boundary apiece in the first over of Mohammad Amir’s reply, they had scored more runs, 9, in four deliveries than Pakistan had managed in 10 overs. Their eventual total of 72 was their joint fourth-lowest total in Tests, and the second time in a week that they had improved on their worst effort against England.

Scorecard
Robert Croft was left stranded one away from taking 1,000 first-class wickets for Glamorgan following the first day of their County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire at Swansea. The 40-year-old off-spinner went into the game needing three wickets to become the first Glamorgan player to achieve the double of 1,000 wickets and 10,000 runs.Croft claimed two of those wickets today as Leicestershire finished the day on 225 for 5 with half-centuries for James Taylor and Jacques du Toit. After winning the toss the Foxes made slow progress in the morning, reaching lunch at 71 for 1 after 33 overs.One of the main reasons for the visitors’ low scoring rate was an accurate spell with the new ball from James Harris who went for only eight runs from his opening nine overs. Openers Will Jefferson and Matthew Boyce looked to have weathered the threat of the new ball on a slow pitch until Mark Cosgrove produced a stunning left-handed catch at first slip to remove Jefferson off the bowling off Jim Allenby.To resounding applause, Croft came into the attack just before lunch and produced three consecutive maidens. The scoring rate did not rise much above two runs an over in the opening two sessions as the visitors reached 151 for 2 by tea.Croft got on the way towards his landmark by taking his 998th victim in his ninth over. Bowling around the wicket he had the left-handed Boyce caught behind from a ball which bounced out of the rough. Like Harris, the former England off-spinner was impressively economical withhis first 15 overs going for only 13 runs. But in his next over he was planted over long-on for six by Taylor.By tea he and Du Toit had put on an unbeaten partnership of 62 in 24 overs with Du Toit completing his 50 from 126 balls in the final ball before the interval. Shortly after tea Taylor also went to his half-century from 124 balls with four fours and a six.Glamorgan’s tactic of giving Croft the second new ball worked when he struck almost immediately as to dismiss Du Toit, who was caught behind attempting to cut the offspinner.Harris also struck with the new ball as he had Paul Nixon caught at second slip by Jamie Dalrymple for a duck as Leicestershire were reduced from 201 for 2 to 206 for 4.And two overs from the close Dean Cosker trapped Taylor leg before to make it Glamorgan’s day.

The BCCI has accepted Sachin Tendulkar’s request to be rested for the Asia Cup and has not included him in the squad for the tournament in Sri Lanka. Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan have been dropped, while Saurabh Tiwary, the Jharkhand batsman, has received his maiden call-up in a 15-man team that is significantly stronger than the side which failed to qualify for the tri-series final in Zimbabwe.MS Dhoni comes back to captain a team that is bolstered by the return of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra.Ashok Dinda, the Bengal fast bowler, and R Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu offspinner, who were part of the Indian squad for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, have been retained.Tiwary, 20, was one of the finds for Mumbai Indians during the IPL this year, where he struck three fifties in their run to the final. That was preceded by a successful domestic season, where, playing for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy Plate League, he scored three centuries in five games at an average of 98.83.Yuvraj has been struggling with a wrist injury and fitness problems in the recent past. He was recently issued a show-cause notice by the BCCI for being involved in a pub brawl in St Lucia on the day India were knocked out of the World Twenty20. Yusuf hasn’t been able to replicate his IPL success in international cricket. He has two half-centuries in 37 ODIs, and averaged just 10.50 in the World Twenty20.Kris Srikkanth, the BCCI’s chairman of selectors, said fielding and fitness were two important factors considered when picking the squad. “A lot of stress was given on the fitness of the players. Fitness and fielding are very important. We have gone through the record of last one year and put lot of stress on it. In recent past, we lost some matches or struggled in some matches because of poor fielding,” he told reporters. “We also put stress on consistent performances. Lot of players have done consistently well and apart from the seniors, we have blooded some youngsters as well so that they know what international cricket is all about.”The BCCI, in its media release, stated that Tendulkar wanted to spend time with his children, in view of the hectic schedule ahead.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.

ScorecardJimmy Adams hit 61 on a very tough wicket but Hampshire suffered an extraordinary late collaspe•Getty Images

Kieron Pollard and Alfonso Thomas demolished Hampshire, who lost their last six wickets for four runs to slide to a sensational last-over defeat in their Friends Provident t20 clash at the Rose Bowl. In a low-scoring match, Hampshire were poised for victory at 93 for 4, requiring only another 11 runs in almost four overs to see off Somerset’s challenge.But Thomas and Pollard came on, and Hampshire fell away in spectacular style to lose by six runs with four balls remaining. Opening batsman Jimmy Adams was the only Hampshire batsman to reach double figures, and hit a patient 61, but when he was sixth out at 96, Hampshire lost their nerve against Pollard and Thomas.Thomas ended with 2 for 5 from four overs, the joint second most economical four-over spell in Twenty20 history, while Pollard took 3 for 15 from his 3.2 overs and the Somerset celebrations began.Hampshire seemed to have done the hard part when, after winning the toss, they reduced Somerset to a catchable 103 for 7, in which Zander de Bruyn was top scorer with an unbeaten 32. Craig Kieswetter, this week elevated to England’s one-day squad, fell first ball and they then lost a total of six wickets for 39.At one stage, Somerset were 66 for 7 before Thomas joined De Bruyn in the best stand of the innings, an unbeaten 37 for the eighth wicket. Somerset managed only eight fours in their entire innings, and no sixes, against a tight Hampshire attack in which Sean Ervine took 2 for 10 from his four overs, and Abdul Razzaq took 2 for 20 from his four allocation.Hampshire soon lost Michael Lumb in the second over, but still looked well capable of overhauling their modest target before Pollard struck for the first time when he dismissed Michael Carberry to a catch at the wicket when the score was 40 in the seventh over.Even so, Hampshire continued to make steady progress, with Adams reaching his 50 off 83 balls, and then featuring in a stand of 22 in three overs with Razzaq. But from the moment Razzaq fell to Thomas at 93, Hampshire became paralysed by self-doubt.Much depended on the durability of Adams, but at 96 he lofted Pollard to deep square-leg after hitting nine fours and the match’s only six from 47 balls. Hampshire still needed only eight from 15 balls, but there was no way back.Dan Christian was run out first ball, a brilliant piece of work by Pollard as he slid and turned in his follow through, to make Hampshire 96 for 7, and then Thomas ran out Dominic Cork one run later as he kicked the ball onto the stumps.Chris Wood was bowled first ball by Thomas with Hampshire on 97 for nine, and then in the last over Nic Pothas was caught by Jos Buttler to give Somerset a shock victory.

Both finalists will be happy to be back in Barbados, a venue which hastreated them well in this tournament. England warmed up here and thenreturned to beat Pakistan and South Africa in the Super Eights after astressful time in Guyana, while Australia were too good forBangladesh, Sri Lanka and India on a bouncy surface.The wicket has been a revelation and is expected to provide anengrossing contest again with rewards on offer for bowlers and batsmen- Twenty20 is as much about an even contest as any format. Australia’sfast-bowling trio of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnsonrelished the conditions and will be aiming to push the speed gunagain.England’s seamers don’t possess the same extreme pace and have reliedmore on subtle variation although it’s unlikely that the slower-ballbouncers, used so effectively against Sri Lanka in the semi-final,will be as useful on this pitch. Expect the short balls to be nearingfull pace this time.”Two very good pace attacks will play tomorrow,” Michael Clarke said.”England have bowlers with very good skills for this form of cricket.I don’t think their pace is as quick as ours, we have three guys whobowl over 150 kph, but I think the execution has been very good. Theyare very intelligent T20 bowlers, using their change of pace and theirbounces and I think our batsmen will have to be ‘on’ from the start.They certainly will have plans for all our batsmen, as we will havefor them.”Clarke, though, couldn’t hide his excitement at the prospect of beingable to unleash his quicks again on this surface where they causedplenty of problems during the Super Eights.”This wicket looks very good, very flat and hopefully it has a bit ofpace and bounce in it for both teams, we both like that,” he said. “Iknow our bowlers are very keen to get out there and test the wicket.You have got two very good bowling units on display here.”Australia’s attack will provide a stern test for England’s openingcombination. Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter have played key rolesin the team’s success, setting a rapid pace at the top of the order.Now they’ll have to combat the left-arm angle of Nannes, the leadingwicket-taker in the tournament, and Mitchell Johnson plus the slingypace of Shaun Tait.”We’ve got a plan of action against every team and right the waythrough the tournament, we have been very aggressive and I don’t wantto change our mindset going into the final,” Paul Collingwood said.”There would be no reason at all to change anyone’s mindset in theeleven that are going to play tomorrow.”The England batsmen were discussing Australia’s left-armers in thenets on Saturday while Collingwood, who like Clarke is the batsmanwith least form in his team, was finding his range in the middle withthe highly successful practice skill of standing by the pitch andsmashing throw-downs into the stands. It may sound rudimentary, but ithas been a key reason for England’s successful six-hitting.”That’s why the guys are going to go out with confidence and beliefand keep doing the things they have been doing well throughout thistournament,” he said. “We have done it against fast bowlers, against[Dale] Steyn and [Morne] Morkel, they are two very fast bowlers, wehave got different angles tomorrow that is the probably the only thingwe have got to contend with but we have played against pace bowlingbefore and I believe the guys have got the skills to do it.”There was also a gusty breeze blowing in Barbados the day before thefinal and, as Mike Hussey said after his breathtaking 60 againstPakistan, it has been vital to use the wind. They sound like minorpoints, but in this final it could be the small details that make thedifference.

Overview

Zimbabwe will rely on their spinners to bog the opposition in helpful conditions•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Zimbabwe cricket is taking small but important steps back to normalcy, with several former players opting to return to a revamped domestic competition under a board that is keen to present itself as amiable and open to progress. Their participation in a major global event is an important part of that process, especially after they were forced to miss the last edition of the tournament in England last year.There were positive signs on their tour of the region six weeks ago, although the team unravelled against a resurgent West Indies as the series wore on. With the national coaching position in limbo at the time, Zimbabwe suffered through unimaginative team selections and their lack of batting depth was also exposed on occasion, as when they sank to 104 all out in the third ODI with the series in the balance.New coach Alan Butcher will be hoping to make a difference to their fortunes and instill a positive attitude as quickly as possible, but Zimbabwe are sure to struggle against New Zealand and Sri Lanka’s experienced campaigners.However, as Butcher recently remarked, one inspired performance can be enough to turn a game in this format. With their victories over Australia at the 2007 tournament and in the warm-ups for this competition, and against West Indies last month, a shock win cannot be ruled out.

Twenty20 pedigree

Zimbabwe are relative novices in the format, having played just eight internationals in four years. They did not take part in the last World Twenty20 tournament in England, and will have to draw on the experience gained in their domestic Twenty20 competition and familiarity with West Indian conditions as they hope to spring a surprise. They will be buoyed by the fact that they are playing both of their group games at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, where they beat West Indies in the first match of their recent ODI series and pushed them in the second.

Strengths and weaknesses

Given the likelihood of a slow, low wicket, Zimbabwe’s game plan will revolve around their spin-bowling department. Ray Price took the new ball in several games on their tour of the West Indies in March, and may very well do so again in this tournament, while with Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Greg Lamb and Timycen Maruma in their stable, Zimbabwe have plenty of spin-bowling depth. Their batting line-up, on the other hand, is notoriously brittle and will no doubt struggle against their opponents’ experienced attacks.

Key men

Zimbabwean wickets tend to fall in heaps, and so while Hamilton Masakadza’s contributions at the top of the order will be important, quick runs from Elton Chigumbura at the tail end of the innings will be vital to paper over the cracks in the middle order. He was Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer in the West Indies in March, and, as the most experienced seamer in a spin-heavy attack, he also picked up six wickets at a touch over 24 in the series.

X-factor

Andy Blignaut has trod an unconventional path in his cricket career, but amid the controversies, disputes with the administration and a brief dabble in male modelling, there have been telling performances with bat and ball. Tailor-made for Twenty20 cricket, Blignaut announced his comeback with a match-winning unbeaten 63 against the Mountaineers in Zimbabwe’s domestic competition and could form an explosive pairing with the hard-hitting Chigumbura in the lower order.

Vital stats

Jon Lewis, the Gloucestershire opening bowler, Glamorgan left-arm spinner Dean Cosker and Tim Murtagh from Middlesex have been drafted into the MCC squad for the match against Durham in Abu Dhabi next week. The trio replace Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett due to their workloads with England and Surrey respectively.The match is the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season, but this year is being played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium so that trials can continue with pink ball and in floodlit conditions.Finn has played both Tests in Bangladesh so will be rested when the squad return to England ahead of the domestic season, while Tremlett has been removed from the four-day match because Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, wants to managed his workload with Surrey having three Championship matches in three weeks in April.”I’m really pleased and excited to get this opportunity to play for MCC in Abu Dhabi. It will be extremely useful, high quality match practice ahead of the championship season,” Lewis said. “Playing with the pink ball and under lights is a fascinating prospect and I’m eager to learn more about the pink ball and how it behaves.”The addition of Cosker to the squad also allows an extra spin option alongside James Middlebrook if conditions show they are likely to help the slow bowlers. The MCC side boasts a strong batting line-up including Mark Ramprakash, David Sales and James Taylor, who was part of the England Lions tour in UAE.John Stephenson, the MCC head of cricket who will manage the team, said: “I’m glad to have been able to call on the services of three such experienced bowlers for what will be an important step in researching pink balls and floodlit first-class cricket.”The preparations are now in their final stages and all efforts are being directed towards making this a match worthy of its historical setting. I’m looking forward to see how the pink ball will behave under lights, and how these top players will react to it.”Revised squad Alex Gidman (capt), Scott Newman, David Sales, Mark Ramprakash, Dawid Malan, James Taylor, James Foster (wk), James Middlebrook, Tim Murtagh, Steve Kirby, Jon Lewis, Dean Cosker