Cricket: Sehwag and Murali to star for MCC in Abu Dhabi

LONDON, February 20, 2014 (AFP) - India's Virender Sehwag is to captain Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in their four-day match against English champion county Durham in Abu Dhabi next month, officials announced Thursday.



This year marks the 200th anniversary of MCC's move to its present Lord's ground, with Sehwag among a host of famous names including Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne due to play in a special bicentenary match on July 5. Meanwhile Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan will lead the MCC team in the preceding Emirates Twenty20 event.

Sehwag, one of the most destructive opening batsman cricket has known, said he was honoured to be leading MCC in a match that acts as a 'curtain-raiser' to the forthcoming English season.

"I was delighted to be asked to play in this match, and being able to captain the MCC side makes it even more of a privilege," said the 35-year-old, who has scored 8,586 runs at an average of nearly fifty with 23 hundreds in 104 Tests.

Also in the squad are England spinner Monty Panesar and Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman Prasanna Jayawardene as well as several promising county players including Middlesex opener Sam Robson, who has been scoring heavily for the second-string England