Northeast’s MCC honour

Kent cricket

Sam Northeast says he is honoured to have been chosen to captain the MCC in the annual four-day curtain raiser for the English county season in Abu Dhabi next month.

Northeast will captain a youthful Marylebone Cricket Club side against Middlesex in the Champion County match on Sunday, March 26.

The Kent skipper leads a side including team-mate Matt Coles and England youngsters Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett and England Lions trio Joe Clarke, Tom Alsop and Lewis Gregory.

Northeast admitted: “It’s a huge honour. We’ve got an absolutely great side and I’m looking forward to it. Matt Coles is going to join me out there and it’s great preparation for us before the season.

“It’s great preparation, especially as we’ve got one-day cricket starting as early as it does, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase your skills before the ICC Champions Trophy as well.”

The fixture, which has been played in Abu Dhabi since 2009, will take place at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium and will be played with a pink ball in day/night conditions.

Last season’s MCC team overcame 2015 county champions Yorkshire by four wickets, thanks in part to an impressive performance from James Tredwell. MCC team: Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire, England), Tom Alsop (Hampshire, England Lions), Sam Northeast (Kent), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire, England), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire, England Lions), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset, England Lions), Matt Coles (Kent, England Lions), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire, England U19), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Jack Leach (Somerset, England Lions).

Sam Billings has retained his place in the England squad for a three-match One-day International series against West Indies starting in March in Antigua.

The squad remains unchanged from the side that finished the recent ODI series in India. The 25-year-old Kent Cricket Academy graduate opened the batting in all three T20 clashes against India.

He scored 22 off 10 balls in a seven-wicket win last Thursday, before making 12 in Sunday’s five-run loss. The third and final game took place yesterday (Wednesday) but he was out first ball in England’s run chase.

Adam Ball and Adam Rouse shared a unbroken stand of 84 to clinch a second successive Caribbean Super50 win in Antigua on the FGS Plant Tour on Tuesday night. Calum Haggett took a one-day career-best of 4-59 and Imran Qayyum did likewise with 3- 42 as the tourists restricted Windward Islands Volcanoes to 241-9 in a rain-disrupted clash.

Sam Northeast (49) and Sean Dickson (36) paved the way for Ball (40 not out) and Rouse (36 not out) to seal the win with white-ball best scores.

The win closed the gap on leaders Leeward Islands Hurricanes to five points. Kent face West Indies U19 today (Thursday, 1pm GMT) before playing the Hurricanes on Saturday (5.30pm GMT).

They began the series with a seven-wicket defeat to the Leeward Islands, despite Haggett’s career-best 45 as the hosts chased down 233-9 with time to spare.

The Spitfires’ first win came on Sunday against the 11-time champion Trinidad & Tobago Red Force. Ivan Thomas took a career best 4-51 as the islanders were bowled out for 193 with Dickson (56) and Darren Stevens (43) helping Kent home by five wickets.

Zak Crawley hit his fourth half-cenury for Wembley Districts in the West Australian First Grade competition. The 18-year-old ended day one of a two-day match unbeaten on 71 against Swan Athletic Caversham.