Stuart Broad’s availability for Nottinghamshire between now and the start of the Specsavers Test Series against India in August has yet to be confirmed by the ECB – though the seamer definitely won’t be available for the Specsavers County Championship match at Somerset, which starts on Saturday.
The 31-year-old right-armer – who has moved up to 12th in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings – took match figures of 6-66 at Emerald Headingley as England yesterday squared their two match Test series with Pakistan at 1-1 after completing a comprehensive innings victory.
Other England players have been released for matches in the forthcoming week, but both Broad and fellow opening bowler James Anderson have been rested, with details of any further domestic involvement to follow at a later date.
Alex Hales meanwhile will be available for the Outlaws' last One-Day Cup group game before joining up with the England squad ahead of the game against Scotland and series against Australia.
Dominic Bess and Joe Root can play for their counties in this week’s final rounds of qualifying matches in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Bess, the 20-year-old off-spinner who made his first two Test appearances against Pakistan, is free to play for Somerset against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday in the last round of matches in the South Group – a game which has been selected for live coverage by Sky Sports with Hampshire top of the group and aiming to clinch a home semi-final, while Somerset are fourth and could still secure a play-off place.
Root has been made available for Yorkshire’s home game against Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Thursday – when they may also be in contention to qualify for the play-offs, depending on the result of the first Roses showdown of the season against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford tomorrow (Tuesday).
If Yorkshire win that game, they will climb above Notts Outlaws, 2017 winners, and Derbyshire Falcons into third ahead of the last round of matches in the North Group on Thursday.
Notts face Derbyshire in an East Midlands derby under the floodlights at Trent Bridge (2pm start), but the Sky cameras will be at the West Midlands derby between Warwickshire and Worcestershire Rapids at Edgbaston – where the winners will secure a home semi-final, and the losers will be in danger of missing out on the play-offs altogether.
Moeen Ali will again be available for Worcestershire before linking up with England’s one-day squad, but Warwickshire will be without Chris Woakes after he picked up an injury late in the Emerald Headingley Test.
Other players from England’s Test squad available for Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures this week are Mark Wood (Durham), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Middlesex) and Sam Curran (Surrey) – and Malan has also been made available to play for Middlesex in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire starting on June 20.
Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler will take a break before switching to one-day mode with England.
Alastair Cook, meanwhile, is available for Essex’s game against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
The draw for the knockout stages of the Royal London One-Day Cup will be held at Edgbaston on Thursday night, after the Warwickshire-Worcestershire game.
As last year, the group winners will earn home advantage in the semi-finals, which will be played on June 17 and 18, and both shown live on Sky.
Their opponents will be determined by play-offs between the second team from the North Group and the third from the South, and vice versa, on June 14 – with Sky to select one of those matches for live coverage.
The draw will determine which play-off winner travels to which group winner – and ahead of this week’s final group matches, 11 of the 18 counties are still in contention to stay on course for the Lord’s final on Saturday June 30.
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