Lewis, Murtagh and Cosker called up by MCC

Jon Lewis, the Gloucestershire opening bowler, Glamorgan left-arm spinner Dean Cosker and Tim Murtagh from Middlesex have been drafted into the MCC squad for the match against Durham in Abu Dhabi next week. The trio replace Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett due to their workloads with England and Surrey respectively.

The match is the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season, but this year is being played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium so that trials can continue with pink ball and in floodlit conditions.

Finn has played both Tests in Bangladesh so will be rested when the squad return to England ahead of the domestic season, while Tremlett has been removed from the four-day match because Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, wants to managed his workload with Surrey having three Championship matches in three weeks in April.

"I'm really pleased and excited to get this opportunity to play for MCC in Abu Dhabi. It will be extremely useful, high quality match practice ahead of the championship season," Lewis said. "Playing with the pink ball and under lights is a fascinating prospect and I'm eager to learn more about the pink ball and how it behaves."

The addition of Cosker to the squad also allows an extra spin option alongside James Middlebrook if conditions show they are likely to help the slow bowlers. The MCC side boasts a strong batting line-up including Mark Ramprakash, David Sales and James Taylor, who was part of the England Lions tour in UAE.

John Stephenson, the MCC head of cricket who will manage the team, said: "I'm glad to have been able to call on the services of three such experienced bowlers for what will be an important step in researching pink balls and floodlit first-class cricket.

"The preparations are now in their final stages and all efforts are being directed towards making this a match worthy of its historical setting. I'm looking forward to see how the pink ball will behave under lights, and how these top players will react to it."

Revised squad Alex Gidman (capt), Scott Newman, David Sales, Mark Ramprakash, Dawid Malan, James Taylor, James Foster (wk), James Middlebrook, Tim Murtagh, Steve Kirby, Jon Lewis, Dean Cosker