Out-of-favour India batsman Virender Sehwag and Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan will lead two MCC sides in a series of matches in the Middle East to help launch the new county season.
Muralitharan will make a special appearance as MCC captain in the Emirates T20 tournament in Dubai, which takes place tomorrow and also features Lancashire, Sussex and a select XI from the Kerala Premier League.
Sehwag will then lead the MCC side into the four-day Champion County match against Durham, starting on March 23.
The day-night match will be played under the 'MCC Spirit of Cricket' banner and will feature the use of pink balls, which have recently been trialed in the Australian Sheffield Shield.
The Champion County match will be played at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium, the home of Abu Dhabi CC.
Also in the MCC squad for the matches are England's Monty Panesar and Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman Prasanna Jayawardene, as well as a host of bright young county talents, including Kent's Daniel Bell-Drummond, Lancashire's Luis Reece and Middlesex opener Sam Robson -- who has been on England Lions duty in Sri Lanka this winter.
Nottinghamshire trio Samit Patel, Andre Adams and England hopeful Harry Gurney are also included in the squad.
Left-arm opening bowler Gurney, a former Leeds/Bradford MCC University cricketer, has recently returned from England's limited overs tour of the West Indies.
