Lancashire captain Stuart Law will play in one of the two pre-season friendlies against Yorkshire at Old Trafford after returning from Indian Cricket League duty.
The Roses rivals face off in a 50-over fixture today for the second time in 17 days after the clash in Abu Dhabi, before playing a two-day game tomorrow and Wednesday.
The 39-year-old flew straight to India following the Pro Arch Series competition in the UAE to captain his Chennai Superstars side.
advertisement
The Queenslander was due to arrive back in England over the weekend, with cricket manager Mike Watkinson confirming he would in one of the matches.
Having already played and skippered, his county in three one-day games in the Emirates, it would seem more likely for Law to miss out today and play in tomorrow's two-dayer. That could mean Andrew Flintoff steps in as captain.
The 30-year-old all-rounder led the Lightning against Yorkshire in Abu Dhabi and, if he does so again, he will lead a Lancashire side out at Old Trafford for only the second time in his career.
Watkinson is expected to use 13 or 14 players over the three days, giving a clearer indication of who will start the season in the County Championship, against Surrey next Wednesday, and in the Friends Provident Trophy, against Derbyshire next Sunday.
"It makes sense for the players who are going to play the majority of the opening games for you to get as much exposure as possible out there," he explained.
"But we have also got to be mindful that we have got more than 11 players who are keen to get out there and play."
Australian overseas batsman Brad Hodge arrives in England next Monday, and will be available for the opener at the Oval.
But South African Kolpak player, Francois Du Plessis, is finishing off his domestic campaign with the Titans.
"He will be away for the first two weeks of the season," said Watkinson of the 23-year-old batsman.
"I don't have an exact date for when he arrives, but I don't think he will be around for the first two Championship games."
England have set an example of using 12 or 13 players for friendlies, while on tour, but Watkinson added these fixtures will definitely be restricted to 11 in each game.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
