The Wales squad for the first international challenge match against England in Cardiff on 24th June was announced today and contains one or two surprises. Tony Cottey of Sussex and Steffan Jones of Somerset are included in the 17-strong party, along with Jacques Kallis, who played for Glamorgan in 1999 and who has agreed to come over and guest for Wales in the match. A decision on whether Glamorgan's current overseas player, Michael Kasprowicz, is to be involved has yet to be taken.

The game, which is being staged as part of the England team's preparations for the NatWest Series Tournament being played between England, India and Sri Lanka from 27th June to 13th July, will be the first time Wales have met England at this level and the England team will be selected from the squad picked for the NatWest Series competition.

Tony Cottey and Steffan Jones are appearing courtesy of Sussex and Somerset and provided that those counties are not involved in any cricket on that day. Both were on the Glamorgan staff at the start of their careers. Kallis has agreed to play and has obtained permission from the United Cricket Board of South Africa. Qubik Applications of Cardiff have helped make that possible by part financing the costs of bringing him over.

Steve James will skipper the side and the Glamorgan Coaching team of John Derrick, Adrian Shaw and Steve Watkin will look after the Wales team's coaching prior to the game and on the day itself. A special kit is being designed for the Wales team for the occasion.

Glamorgan's Chief Executive Mike Fatkin said:

"We're delighted that Tony, Steffan and Jacques have agreed to play for Wales in the game and grateful to have had the co-operation of their employers. We thought very hard about what sort of qualification rules to work to but given the one-off nature of the event and the need for it not to be seen as "just another Glamorgan game" it was felt that we ought to be flexible. As there are still a couple of availability issues to resolve we believe we've struck the right balance. We were disappointed that Cardiff was not allocated a formal One-Day International this summer but this should make up for that. It really is a very exciting prospect to be taking England on in a formal one-day match as it's not often you have the chance to come and watch the full England side play in Wales, let alone in a game against Wales. We're keen to promote our national identity further and hopefully there will be similar opportunities for us to do so in the future."

Steve James said:

"We've never had the opportunity of playing against England before and to be able to do so under the banner of Wales is fantastic. We're looking for as much support as we can from the public and I'm sure there will be a terrific atmosphere. From a personal point of view I'm especially pleased that Tony and Steffan are 'coming home' to play for Wales and I know they'll both be fired up for the game. It'll also be good to catch up with Jacques again. He enjoyed his time in Wales a couple of seasons ago, has a very close affinity to Glamorgan and I know that when the opportunity to play for Wales came along he jumped at it. It should be a tremendous occasion."

England's Head Coach Duncan Fletcher said:

"This is exactly the kind of preparation the England team needs prior to the NatWest Series with India and Sri Lanka. In previous years we have gone into the competition without any warm-up matches and when we were approached with the idea of playing against Wales it was something we were keen to do. I know a lot of the players involved in the Wales squad and I'm confident it will be a very keenly contested game. It'll be great for me and our Physiotherapist, Dean Conway, to be returning to Sophia Gardens for the match but in addition to being good preparation for the England players I hope the public gets behind it to make the event the success it deserves to be."

Tickets are still available for the game, priced £25 for adults, £18 for Glamorgan members and £8 for juniors under sixteen years of age. Applications can be made to the Glamorgan office either by post, by telephone (029 2040 9380), by calling in to the offices in Sophia Gardens, or via the Glamorgan website (www.glamorgancricket.com

A very limited number of corporate hospitality packages are still available. For details of these, and how else to get involved in supporting the event, contact the commercial department at Glamorgan.

Subject to everyone being available and fit, the 17-man Wales squad for the game is:

Steve James (Captain)      Jacques Kallis
Dean Cosker                Matthew Maynard
Tony Cottey                Keith Newell
Robert Croft               Owen Parkin
Adrian Dale                Michael Powell
Andrew Davies              Darren Thomas
David Hemp                 Mark Wallace
Steffan Jones              Alex Wharf
Simon Jones

In the event of there being any availability or injury problems other players will be added from within the current Glamorgan squad, namely Dan Cherry, Alun Evans David Harrison, Jonathan Hughes, Adrian Shaw and Ian Thomas. A decision on the involvement of Michael Kasprowicz will be taken nearer the time.

The umpires for the match will be Mervyn Kitchen and former Glamorgan seam bowler Allan Jones. Trevor Jesty will be the third umpire.

S4C are providing live coverage of this historic event. The channel's Commissioner of Sport and Events, Gareth Davies, said the channel were looking forward eagerly to broadcasting the event.

He said: "We are delighted that we have won the rights to televise this historic first international between Wales and England. We will be giving the match the most comprehensive coverage possible and are looking forward to playing a central role in this major sporting event. S4C already broadcasts a wide variety of international cricket and this match complements that coverage. It proves that S4C is batting for cricket and batting for Wales."

Steve James, John Derrick and some of the players involved in the Wales team for the match are available for interviews this morning - Thursday 2nd May - at Sophia Gardens.

© Glamorgan CCC