Broad given shot at West Indies as pair of Twenty20 games is added to diary

The matches will take place on Friday, September 23 and Sunday, September 25, the first starting at 6.15pm and the second at 6.30pm.

The England and Wales Cricket Board first announced only in mid-June their intention to stage the fixtures, which were not originally in this year’s international schedule.

Surrey chief executive Richard Gould said: “Surrey CCC is really pleased to be able to host these games at The Oval in what will be a colourful and exciting end to the international summer.

“We want both games to be played in a friendly party atmosphere with a large turn-out from local residents in Lambeth and London, which is why tickets have been priced from only £25, with under-16s tickets on sale for £1.”

The matches are not a requirement in the International Cricket Council calendar.

When it was first reported that they were to take place this summer, ECB chairman Giles Clarke conceded existing agreements about the number of fixtures available to be broadcast by Sky and the BBC had played their part but insisted too that many other factors were behind the decision to arrange the extra matches with the West Indies Cricket Board. He said: “We have a contractual commitment to Sky and BBC.

“We have said we are interested in more preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup. The new captain (Stuart Broad) would benefit from more opportunity to captain.

“There is the economic situation in the West Indies. It is important to try to redress the balance economically of their game. It is important West Indies cricket is financially successful.

“I’m not looking at it as just two games. We want to attract the the Caribbean community in this country back into cricket grounds. We are not looking at these games as vast money-spinners for English cricket.”

England Lions must overcome a first-innings deficit to win their one-off unofficial Test with Sri Lanka A at Scarborough.

Having dismissed the hosts for 299 yesterday, the Sri Lankans reached 329-8 by the close of the second day, built around a stand of 147 between captain Kaushal Silva and Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

Jade Dernbach and James Harris took three wickets apiece for the Lions, but they trailed by 30 runs at the end of the day, with two wickets in hand for their opponents.

“We bowled to a plan, stuck to our guns, and we brought ourselves back into it at the end of the day,” said Harris. “If we can bowl them out quickly and then post a good total, we’ll have a very good chance of winning.”