Durham have named their squad, as expected minus captain Paul Collingwood and star all-rounder Ben Stokes, to face MCC at Abu Dhabi in the Champion County game.
Collingwood and Stokes will be with England at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, respectively in coaching and playing capacities, during the traditional season curtain-raiser that runs from March 23-26.
The county champions will fly out a week today for two days of warm-weather training and return on March 27.
Durham squad: Mark Stoneman, Keaton Jennings, Scott Borthwick, Michael Richardson, Gordon Muchall, Phil Mustard, Stuart Poynter, Gareth Breese, Mark Wood, Ryan Pringle, Usman Arshad, Jamie Harrison, Chris Rushworth, Graham Onions, Ryan Buckley, Paul Coughlin.