Lara to play alongside Tendulkar in Lord`s bicentenary

Manchester: West Indies legend Brian Lara today joined fellow all-time batting great Sachin Tendulkar of India and became the latest entry in the star-studded list of players who will participate in the MCC v Rest of the World Lord`s Bicentenary match on July 5.

Lara will play alongside India`s Sachin Tendulkar for MCC, with Australia`s Aaron Finch, currently the world`s leading Twenty20 batsman, also in the hosts line-up, besides other legends such as Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. Australia paceman Peter Siddle, a thorn in England`s side during the Ashes, will join Nottinghamshire team-mate and former Test wicket-keeper Chris Read in the MCC side. Fast bowlers Umar Gul of Pakistan and Tino Best are the final names to be added to the MCC and Rest of the World sides respectively. Tendulkar will captain an MCC XI that also includes another retired India batting star in Rahul Dravid, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee. Warne, arguably cricket`s greatest leg-spinner, will captain a Rest of the World XI that includes his former Hampshire team-mate Kevin Pietersen as well as Sri Lanka`s Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan`s Shahid Afridi. "Lord`s always holds a very special place in any cricketer`s heart, and I am very much looking forward to helping celebrate its Bicentenary with MCC," Lara said in a statement. "It was an honour to be asked to be involved and it will be fantastic to play at such an iconic place on such a special occasion." Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), founded in 1787, moved to its present site in the north-west London suburb of St John`s Wood in 1814, with the ground then owned by Thomas Lord -- hence its name -- before the club bought him out. Lord`s Bicentenary Match teams MCC: Sachin Tendulkar (IND, capt), Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Rahul Dravid (IND), Aaron Finch (AUS), Umar Gul (PAK), Brian Lara (WIS), Brett Lee (AUS), Chris Read (ENG, wkt), Shaun Tait (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZL) Rest of the World: Shane Warne (AUS, capt), Shahid Afridi (PAK), Tino Best(WIS), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Adam Gilchrist (AUS, wkt), Tamim Iqbal (BAN), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Virender Sehwag (IND), Peter Siddle (AUS), Yuvraj Singh (IND).