Middlesex allrounder will lead team in four-day match against Zimbabwe at Grace Road

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2025

Josh de Caires has played 21 first-class matches for Middlesex•Getty Images

Josh De Caires, the Middlesex spin-bowling allrounder, will lead a County Select XI in Leicester this week, with coaching support from England’s recuperating quick Mark Wood, as Zimbabwe warm up for next week’s one-off Test against England at Trent Bridge with a four-day tour game.De Caires, 23 – the son of former England captain Mike Atherton – has been named as captain in a 13-man squad that also features Warwickshire all-rounder Dan Mousley, who made his England white-ball debuts in the Caribbean last year, and Yorkshire legspinner Jafer Chohan, who was picked for the same tour but has yet to earn his first cap.The squad includes two other players with recent international captaincy experience. Essex allrounder Luc Benkenstein and Somerset wicketkeeper-batter Thomas Rew – the younger brother of James, who was last week called into the Test squad – have both previously captained England Men Under-19s.Andrew Flintoff, the England Lions head coach, will oversee the team’s preparations, alongside a coaching team that includes Sarah Taylor, the former England women’s wicketkeeper, and Wood, who is on the comeback trail after a left knee operation.Speaking to Sky Sports last week, Wood flagged his involvement in both this match and the two England Lions games against India that follow, saying that he was looking into options for his post-playing career, “to see if I’m a natural, to see if I’m any good, and if I enjoy it”.Neil Kileen, whose son Mitch is also named in the squad, is another member of the coaching support team, alongside Mike Yardy and Neil McKenzie, the former South Africa batter. The match gets underway on Thursday, May 15.PCC Select XI squad: Josh De Caires (capt), Archie Bailey, Luc Benkenstein, Jafer Chohan, Ben Dawkins, Alex Green, Eddie Jack, Mitch Killeen, Ben Mayes, Seb Morgan, Dan Mousley, Thomas Rew, Jamal Richards.