Sidebottom faces Stanford fitness test

10 Sep, 2008

England pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom will have to prove his fitness before being given the chance to earn one million dollars (500,000 pounds) in the winner-takes-all Stanford Twenty20 clash in November.
The Nottinghamshire left-arm quick was added to the unchanged XI which wrapped up a 4-0 one-day series win at home to South Africa this month and the four other original squad members to form a 15-man party for the match against billionaire Allen Stanford's Caribbean 'superstars' in Antigua on November 1 and the subsequent seven-match one-day series in India.
Players in the winning side of the match at Texan-born businessman Stanford's own ground stand to win one million dollars (500,000 pounds) each - a staggering sum by cricket standards. However, 30-year-old left-arm quick Sidebottom, the reigning England player of the year, has sustained back, hip and groin injuries this season and was replaced in the one-day squad by Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan.
"The selectors would like to congratulate the team on an outstanding performance in beating such a talented One-Day side as South Africa so comprehensively," said selection supremo Geoff Miller. "It bodes extremely well for the tough challenges that lie ahead this winter and is reflected in our decision to retain the bulk of the squad from this summer's NatWest Series for both The Stanford Super Series and the tour of India," he added.
England are also due to play two Tests in India in December. The squad for that series is set to be announced on September 29. England 15-man squad announced Tuesday for the Stanford Super Series in Antigua and the one-day international series in India: Kevin Pietersen (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Samit Patel, Matt Prior (wkt) Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Luke Wright.
FIXTURES:
-- Stanford Super Series (Twenty20)
-- All matches at Stanford Cricket Ground, Antigua
-- October 25: Stanford Superstars v Trinidad and Tobago
-- October 26: England v Middlesex
-- October 27: Trinidad and Tobago v Middlesex
-- October 28: England v Trinidad and Tobago
-- October 29: Stanford Superstars v Middlesex
-- November 01: Stanford Superstars v England
-- England ODIs in India
-- November 06: England arrive, Mumbai
-- November 09: One-day warm-up match, Mumbai
-- November 11: One-day warm-up match, Mumbai
-- November 14: 1ST 0DI v INDIA, Rajkot
-- November 17: 2ND ODI v INDIA, Indore
-- November 20: 3RD ODI v INDIA, Kanpur
-- November 23: 4TH ODI v INDIA, Jamshedpur
-- November 26: 5TH ODI v INDIA, Cuttack
-- November 29: 6TH ODI v INDIA, Guwahati
-- December 02: 7th ODI v INDIA, Delhi.

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