England limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan will lead the ICC World XI side in a T20 International against West Indies at Lord’s in May this year, International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday.
The game will raise funds for two stadia in the Caribbean that were damaged following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.
West Indies, who are the defending ICC World T20 champions, will face what is expected to be a very strong World XI side with Morgan at the helm and the England captain is relishing the prospect.
“I am delighted to captain the ICC World XI at Lord’s in May against the West Indies,” said Morgan.
“The cricket family always comes together to support worthwhile causes and this one-off T20I, featuring some of the best players in the world will be a great spectacle at the home of cricket.
“I am sure the sporting public will come out in force and help raise money and awareness towards restoring parts of the Caribbean hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September last year, which ripped through many communities in this beautiful part of the world,” he added.
Giles Clarke, the ECB President and ICC Director is leading the coordination of the match, supported by the ICC, ECB and MCC in partnership with Cricket West Indies. He said: “Two category 5 hurricanes in two weeks last year devastated parts of the Caribbean and the world of cricket was keen to show support with a fund-raising initiative. What better way to do that than staging a world-class game at the Home of Cricket!
“Eoin Morgan as captain is a wonderful first name on the ICC World XI team sheet and in due course we’ll have more players from around the world lending their support to what I’m sure will be a highly entertaining and competitive day of cricket at Lord’s in May.”
West Indies qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after defeating defending champions Scotland by five runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method in their Super Six fixture on Wednesday.
On the other hand, England endured one of its most potentially embarrassing days in its test cricket history on Thursday when it was dismissed for 58 in barely 90 minutes on the first day of the first cricket test against New Zealand.