ENGLAND cricketers are due to take on the West Indies in front of a sell-out crowd in County Durham today.
The T20 match is the first international to be played at Durham County Cricket Club’s home ground in Chester-le-Street since it was handed a raft of punishments in return for a £3.8 million bail-out.
A crowd of 13,000 is expected for the match at the Riverside ground but many will be disappointed not to see Durham favourite Ben Stokes, following a decision to rest the all-rounder.
Sir Ian Botham will not be attending the match - his first international as Durham’s chairman, due to a prior commitment to his charity, the Beefy Foundation.
He said: “I would have loved to have been at Durham for the England v West Indies NatWest International T20 but the event is in very capable hands.”
The match starts at 6.30pm.
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