WHILE the bulk of the Durham squad shiver at Chester-le-Street prior to heading off for four days at Loughborough next week, Chris Rushworth has joined Dale Benkenstein on a trip to warmer climes.

The 26-year-old Sunderland seamer has been called up as a replacement in the MCC team to take on Warwickshire in the annual four-day Champion County match, which starts at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

Worcestershire veteran Alan Richardson has withdrawn through injury so Rushworth takes his place in a team captained by Benkenstein.

John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket and manager of the MCC team, said: "I am delighted to welcome Chris into the squad. I have heard really good things about him, and I am sure he will be a positive addition.

"I am confident that day-night first-class cricket can work, and this match will add to our ongoing research on this format."

Rushworth's call-up is another big step in a stop-start career which took off last season, when each of his three five-wicket hauls bettered his previous first-class best and his 38 championship wickets at 16.39 left him third in the national averages behind Graham Onions and Abdur Rehman, who played four games for Somerset.

After making his Durham Academy debut in 2002, Rushworth appeared once in the first team against the Sri Lanka tourists in 2004 before being released.

He returned to join the staff in 2010, but made only championship appearance in 2011 and appeared to be well down the pecking order at the start of last season.

Mitch Claydon, Jamie Harrison and Ruel Brathwaite were all given a chance before Rushworth was called up after an outstanding CB 40 performance against Nottinghamshire, in which his figures at one point were five for 13.

With conditions favouring his swing and seam, he stayed in the team for the rest of the season.

MCC: Dale Benkenstein (capt, Durham), Jimmy Adams (Hampshire), Joe Denly (Middlesex), Ned Eckersley (Leicestershire), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Steve Kirby (Somerset), Dawid Malan (Middlesex), James Middlebrook (Northamptonshire), Sam Northeast (Kent), Chris Rushworth (Durham), Peter Trego (Somerset)