ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – THE West Indies will host England in a three-match, One-Day international series early next year, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced yesterday.
The tour will run from February 22 to March 9 and will see two ODIs played at the Vivian Richards Stadium here and the final game at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.WICB chief executive, Michael Muirhead, said the series represented a chance for West Indies to continue their quest to improve their ODI rankings.
“We see this as an additional opportunity to strengthen our performances in this format as we aim to move up in the rankings,” Muirhead said.
England play warm-up games against the WICB President’s XI in St Kitts on February 25 and again two days later, before facing West Indies in the first ODI on March 3 and again on March 5.
The two teams will clash in the final ODI on March 9.
Meanwhile The West Indies and Pakistan have reached an agreement regarding a day-night tour which will take place in the United Arab Emirates in September.
The proposed tour had foreseen a number of obstacles before finally being confirmed. Initially the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had hoped to play the games in Pakistan, but that idea was rejected by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) due to security concerns. Pakistan has largely been shunned by international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus during the Lahore Test.
The PCB had then disclosed reservations regarding the high cost of continuing to host games in the UAE and cited Sri Lanka as a potential replacement venue. Those plans were, however, soon shelved and it seems the boards have finally managed to arrive on the same page.
The tour has also undergone a change from the originally proposed schedule. It is now expected to consist of three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, which is a change from two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is.
Day-night matches are becoming increasingly popular on the cricketing landscape, with the West Indies currently taking part in a day-night ODI tri-nation series with Australia and South Africa.