Sport | Cricket
Law to lead Lancashire in UAE
Team comprising Flintoff, Cork and Mahmoud will play four matches in Pro Arch Series
- By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:02 March 9, 2008
Dubai: Former Australia batsman Stuart Law will lead a strong Lancashire County team to play in the Pro Arch Series, to be held in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi from March 12.
Though Law had turned out for Australia, he earned British citizenship and is eligible to play for England now.
Law is also the captain of the Chennai Superstars in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
"Dubai will be a new experience for the Lancashire County Cricket team and, at the start of a new season, it is important that the squad gets access to excellent facilities and competitive cricket," remarked Jim Cumbes, the chief executive of the Lancashire County Cricket Club.
Top players like Andrew Flintoff, Sajid Mahmoud, Domnick Cork and Mal Loye are in the team.
The Pro Arch Series tournament is scheduled to be held from March 12 to 29.
"With the International Cricket Council [ICC] now based in Dubai, this is a great opportunity to introduce cricket to a whole new audience, which in return may lead to further investment for the game of cricket," added Cumbes.
Essex, Sussex, Yorkshire and Somerset are yet to announce their teams for the UAE tour.
"Each team will contest four matches and the team with the maximum points will be crowned winners of the inaugural Pro Arch Series," remarked Matthew Jackson, the CEO of Sport Arabia Ltd.
Net run rate
"In the event that teams are equal on points, the winners will be based on most number of wins in group matches and if they are still equal, the team with the higher net run rate will be placed in the higher position," added Jackson.
Six teams will play 12 games during the span of 17 days in the UAE.
The UAE national team are gearing up for the tournament. They are currently playing in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against Ireland in Abu Dhabi.
Team
Lancashire: Stuart Law (capt.), Glen Chapple, Mark Chilton, Dominic Cork, Steven Croft, Gareth Cross (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Kyle Hogg, Paul Horton, Gary Keedy, Mal Loye, Sajid Mahmoud, Simon Marshall, Oliver Newby, Tom Smith
Iain Sutcliffe and Luke Sutton (wkt)
Lancashire's matches:
March 14: Lancashire V UAE National Side Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm start
March 16: Lancashire V Essex Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm start
March 19: Lancashire V Sussex Abu Dhabi, 2pm start
March 21: Lancashire V Yorkshire Abu Dhabi, 2pm start.
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