England stars headline UAE talent showcase

LONDON: England trio Tim Bresnan, Harry Gurney and Liam Dawson will be the star attractions in a United Arab Emirates-based ‘North v South’ series designed to discover fresh international talent.

The 50-over competition comprises three matches in Abu Dhabi in March 2017 and Bresnan, Gurney and Dawson are among eight players set to feature.

England Lions batsman Ben Duckett and Somerset duo Lewis Gregory and Tim Groenewald have also been given invites.

Northamptonshire slow left-armer Graeme White and Kent all-rounder Matt Coles complete a line-up selected using the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Most Valued Player rankings.

The rankings are based on this term’s One-Day Cup, with the top four ‘MVPs’ in the north and south plus the best spinner, automatically qualifying for the 13-man squads.

The rest of the squads will picked by Andrew Strauss and the rest of the England selectors, who are due to attend the matches as they search for potential stars ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

“The North v South series is something that there has been a lot of banter about in the dressing room since the start of the competition and as we got close to the end of the group stage I knew that I was there or thereabouts,” said Gurney, who made his last international appearance in December 2014.

“It’s a good opportunity for someone like me just to remind the selectors that I can still do it and that I believe that I have still got an awful lot to offer the international game. It’s up to me now to persuade them that’s still the case.”

Hampshire all-rounder Dawson, who made his England Twenty20 debut against Sri Lanka earlier this season, topped the MVP Rankings with 128 points, two ahead of White. Dawson and White were the leading spinners in each group.