‘Select County XI’ for warm-up game against India: ECB

The three-day match, which might be accorded first-class status, will pit India against a ‘Select County XI’ that in earlier times was known as ‘Combined Counties’. “We are aware of a request from the BCCI to play a three-day warm-up match against a County Select XI,” an ECB spokesperson told PTI.

“We are working through the operations and COVID-19 protocols to ensure we are able to deliver this. We will confirm it in due course. The India team will report to the Riverside Ground, Durham, for its pre-Test camp starting July 15. It will prepare at the venue, until August 1, before heading to Trent Bridge, Nottingham, for the opener,” the spokesperson added.

When asked what will be the quality of the opposition considering that ‘The Hundred’ is starting on July 23, the spokesperson said: “It will be with players that aren’t in ‘The Hundred’. We will look to select the strongest squad available.”