West Indies to play an exhibition match against Rest of the World XI at Lord’s

The West Indies cricket team will play an exhibition match against a Rest of the World XI in a T20 match at Lord’s on May 31 to raise money after Hurricanes Irma and Maria decimated the cricket stadiums in the Island country. The game has been arranged by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), in conjunction with Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Dominica’s Windsor Park and James Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla suffered extensive damage during the 2017 hurricanes These essential grounds represent the heartbeat of cricket in each country and are important community facilities. The proceeds from the fundraising match will go towards their restoration.

The game has been given international status by the ICC and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. Colin Graves, Chairman of ECB, said, “To have two category 5 hurricanes in the space of two weeks was unprecedented and everyone around the world was shocked by the destruction which was caused.”

He added, “The ECB and CWI have always enjoyed a fantastic relationship and we are keen to support them and the people of the Caribbean in this fundraising initiative. I would like to thank our partners, Sky Sports, for their immediate support by agreeing to broadcast this special International match and MCC for agreeing to host it at Lord’s.”

Availability of international player for the one-off match

Players from both India and Pakistan are expected to play in the same team in the one-off charity match. With the IPL concluding on May 27 and India not set to play an international until their one-off Test against Afghanistan, Indian players are expected to be available for selection. Players from other countries are also likely to be available as there’s no international fixture scheduled a week before or after the date of the exhibition fixture.

However, the only two teams involved in an international series during that span are England and Pakistan, who are playing in a two-Test series.