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Tendulkar to lead World XI

Sachin Tendulkar will lead a World XI side against an MCC XI in a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial cricket match at Lord's on July 18.

Former England captain Mike Atherton is slated to lead the MCC IC. "After his great service as captain of England, we felt it entirely appropriate that Michael should skipper the MCC side in this important and historic match,'' club secretary Roger Knight said.

Shane Warne's presence is a bit iffy, and depends on his injured shoulder healing in time for the game.

Organisers reported an overwhelming interest among international cricketers approached to play in this game, though many top names such as Brian Lara, were unable to make it due to county commitments.

The selection panel, which included former England captain Mike Gatting, also limited itself to just two players from each of this summer's touring sides South Africa and Sri Lanka.

A capacity crowd of 30,000 is expected at the home of cricket, and organizers expect to raise nearly 1 million pounds for the Princess's memorial fund.

The teams:

MCC: Mike Atherton (England), Aamer Sohail (Pakistan), Mohammad Azharuddin (India), Sourav Ganguly (india), Brian Mcmillan (South Africa), Ian Healy (Australia), Shane Warne (Australia) or Anil Kumble (India), Javagal Srinath (India), Allan Donald (South Africa), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies).

Rest of the World: Saeed Anwar (Pakistan), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Aravinda D'Silva (Sri Lanka), Graeme Hick (England), Tom Moody (Australia), Andy Flower (Zimbabwe), Chris Cairns (New Zealand), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan), Ian Bishop (West Indies).