The Emirates Twenty20 tournament will be played between four teams on Friday, March 20 at The Sevens in Dubai. Below is your guide to one of the annual premier cricket events in the UAE.
*Match information is via organisers and subject to change
What is it?
The Emirates Twenty20 is a four-team T20 tournament played annually in Dubai featuring an Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) XI and, typically, three English County Cricket sides.
The tournament usually features some typically big-name players on the MCC team and at least a handful of notable figures from the English county scene.
Ticketing info can be found through the Emirates T20 official website.
According to the page, general entry is Dh30 and free for children 12 and under. A premium brunch package is available for Dh350, and a secondary brunch package available for Dh220 with children 12 and under eligible for a Dh60 dirham brunch package.
When is it?
Friday, March 20. Gates open at 9am, play starts at 10am and the final is scheduled for 5pm, according to organisers.
Yorkshire will play Lancashire in the opening fixture at 10am before the MCC Xi take on Sussex at 1pm.
The final is then scheduled for 5pm.
Where is it?
At The Sevens ground in Dubai. The erstwhile rugby ground shifts into a cricket ground from this event. With football matches and concerts also no strangers to The Sevens, the venue is accustomed to accommodating various transformations.
The Sevens is along the Dubai-Al Ain Road about a 20-minute drive from Bur Dubai via E66, or 30 minutes from Jebel Ali via D57 and E77.
*A map is available below for further directions
Who can be expected this year?
The MCC squad is headlined by Indian international Yuvraj Singh, along with England Test captain Alastair Cook.
England internationals Graham Onions, Michael Carberry and Nick Compton are also expected to play for the MCC.
The rest of the MCC XI consists of England Lions James Hildreth, Sam Bllings, Matt Dunn, Adam Riley and Zafar Ansari, as well as Nepal captain Paras Khadka and county players Chris Rushworth (Durham) and Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire).
MCC’s competition will include 2014 county champions Yorkshire, led by England bowlers Tim Bresnan and Liam Plunkett and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. Former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom could also travel with Yorkshire to the UAE.
The 2014 Emirates T20 winners Sussex will be back as well, featuring Luke Wright and former England batsman Michael Yarddy.
The field is rounded out by Lancashire, a club that includes former South Africa internationals Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince. Andrew Flintoff and Simon Kerrigan will also feature for Lancashire.
Full squads:
Lancashire: Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Jordan Clark, Steven Croft, Alex Davies (Wicketkeeper), Paul Horton, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Stephen Parry, Luis Reece, Tom Smith (Captain)
Yorkshire: Andrew Gale (Captain), Moin Ashraf, Jonathan Bairstow, Jack Brooks, Tim Bresnan, Karl Carver, Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, Andrew Hodd, Jack Leaning, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Steve Patterson, Liam Plunkett, Richard Pyrah, Adil Rashid, Will Rhodes, Ryan Sidebottom
MCC: Alastair Cook (Essex), Nick Compton (Middlesex, captain), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), James Hildreth (Somerset), Zafar Ansari (Surrey, Cambridge MCCU), Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire), Sam Billings (Kent, Loughborough MCCU), Matthew Dunn (Surrey), Chris Rushworth (Durham), Graham Onions (Durham), Adam Riley (Kent, Loughborough MCCU), Paras Khadka* (Nepal) *TBC
Sussex: James Anyon, Will Beer, Ben Brown, Craig Cachopa, Harry Finch, Lewis Hatchett, Matt Hobden, Callum Jackson, Chris Liddle, Steve Magoffin, Tymal Mills, Chris Nash, Steffan Piolet, Ajmal Shahzad, Luke Wells, Luke Wright (Captain), Michael Yardy, Ashar Zaidi.
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