Nasser Hussain will be on a double mission when he leads Essex into action in their World Cup warm up clashes against Bangladesh and England at Chelmsford this weekend.
Not only will he be keen to skipper the county to success but also eager to press his claims for a place in the England side when they start their cup campaign against Sri lanka at Lord's in a week's time.
Hussain has been given the go ahead by England selectors to turn out for Essex even though he is a member of their World Cup squad.
It is seen by the hierarchy as a way of getting as many squad players as possible in games before the battle for the World Cup begins.
For Hussain it represents a big chance to boost his claims for inclusion against Sri Lanka, for although he is now regarded as a fixture at Test level, he has never been able to establish himself in the one-day set up.
Indeed, he was only called into the world Cup squad at the last moment, because Mike Atherton was forced to pull out with a serious back injury. Now he will be anxious to underline he should not have been left out in the first place.
Ronnie Irani and Mark Ilott will also be desperately keen to turn in impressive performances to let the selectors know they are still around. Both players have been ignored in recent seasons after a brief taste at international level.
Ilott, who collected the last of his five test caps well over three years ago, will be seeking to build upon a superb start to the season which has brought him a dozen wickets in the opening two championship games against Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
Meanwhile Irani, capped twice in 1996, will be striving to find the sort of form which brought him over 1,000 first-class runs last season and 75 wickets in all competitions.
Both will only be too aware that outstanding displays will enhance their chances of being picked for this summer's test series against New Zealand which starts after the World Cup.
The England clash on Sunday is naturally the highlight of the weekend but Essex secretary/general manager Peter Edwards stressed that tomorrow's duel against Bangladesh is regarded just as important.
"We owe it to our supporters and opponents to put out our strongest sides and give it our best shots - and that's what we will be doing," he said. "I know the players are desperate to win both games and don't look upon them as a distraction."
Essex have named a squad of 14 for both battles but missing is allrounder Danny Law. His hopes of stepping back into the limelight have been ended by an ankle injury which is expected to keep him out of action for the remainder of the month.
But Robert Rollins is expected to be fit to take over behind the stumps after missing the last game with a pulled muscle. Both matches start at 10.45am and Edwards makes a plea for people to get to the ground early.
"We are expecting big crowds and would urge those attending to make every effort to arrive well before the start. The last thing we want is a late rush."
Essex squad: Hussain, Prichard, S Law, Rollins, Irani, Peters, Grayson, Walton, Cowan, Ilott, Such, Grove, Hyam, Robinson.
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