West Indies great Lara to play in Lord's bicentenary

MANCHESTER: West Indies great Brian Lara has been added to the star-studded list of players who will take part in the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) v Rest of the World Lord's Bicentenary match on July 5 it was announced Wednesday.

Lara will play alongside fellow all-time batting great Sachin Tendulkar for MCC, with Australia's Aaron Finch, currently the world's leading Twenty20 batsman, also in the hosts line-up.

Australia paceman Peter Siddle, a thorn in England's side during the Ashes, will join Nottinghamshire team-mate and former Test wicket-keeper Chris Read in the MCC side.

Fast bowlers Umar Gul (Pakistan) and Tino Best are the final names to be added to the MCC and Rest of the World sides respectively.

Tendulkar will captain an MCC XI that also includes another retired India batting star in Rahul Dravid, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal - whose action was recently called into question by England's Stuart Broad - and former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee.

Meanwhile Shane Warne, arguably cricket's greatest leg-spinner, will captain a Rest of the World XI that includes his former Hampshire team-mate Kevin Pietersen, now in England 'exile', as well as Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi.

"Lord's always holds a very special place in any cricketer's heart, and I am very much looking forward to helping celebrate its Bicentenary with MCC," said Lara in a statement.

"It was an honour to be asked to be involved and it will be fantastic to play at such an iconic place on such a special occasion."

Umar Gul added: "Playing at Lord's is different to playing at any other ground in the world.

"There is something magical about it and it will be a pleasure to come back and help MCC mark the current ground's 200th year in this match."

MCC, founded in 1787, moved to its present site in the north-west London suburb of St John's Wood in 1814, with the ground then owned by Thomas Lord - hence its name - before the club bought him out.

Although it is more than 40 years since MCC ceased to run English cricket, it retains worldwide responsibility for the game's 'Laws', as cricket's rules are known.

Lord's bicentenary match teams

MCC: Sachin Tendulkar (IND, capt), Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Rahul Dravid (IND), Aaron Finch (AUS), Umar Gul (PAK), Brian Lara (WIS), Brett Lee (AUS), Chris Read (ENG, wkt), Shaun Tait (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZL)

Rest of the World: Shane Warne (AUS, capt), Shahid Afridi (PAK), Tino Best(WIS), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Adam Gilchrist (AUS, wkt), Tamim Iqbal (BAN), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Virender Sehwag (IND), Peter Siddle (AUS), Yuvraj Singh (IND)

Note: Best's availability subject to international and club commitments