Unicorns name squad for Clydesdale Bank 40

The Unicorns, a team made up of players without first-class contracts, have announced their squad for Clydesdale Bank 40, which starts April 25.

The squad has been whittled down from 200 players who were recommended to ECB in December, which became 40 and then 21 after a series of training sessions throughout the winter.

The Unicorns have been drawn in Group A alongside Lancashire, Glamorgan, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Worcestershire, and will play each county twice with the top team guaranteed a place in the semi finals.

Ahead of their first game against Surrey on May 2 at The Oval, the Unicorns recently played against a Worcester side and will have two final opportunities to prepare for the Clydesdale Bank 40, a practice match at Wormsley a game against a Kent XI on April 25.

Gordon Child, Unicorns team manager, said: "The Unicorns squad is a balance of youth and experience and we are very much looking forward to competing in the Clydesdale Bank 40. For the younger players aspiring to play first-class cricket this is an opportunity to learn from their more experienced team mates and really test themselves and understand the attributes needed to succeed at this level. It will be a real challenge for the squad but preparations are going well ahead of our first game against Surrey."

Unicorns Jahed Ahmed, Arfan Akram, Christopher Brown, David Burton, Wesley Durston, Ned Eckersley, Carl Greenidge, Neil Hancock, Mark Hardinges, Stephen Humble, Joshua Knappett, Thomas Mees, Christopher Murtagh, Michael O'Shea, Sean Park, Keith Parsons, Christopher Peploe, Richard Querl, Zoheb Sharif, Duncan Snell, Jackson Thompson.