West Indies tour to England 2020 [Preview]
West Indies is scheduled to tour England in the month of July to play three-match Test series. Jason Holder-led unit will need to adjust to the conditions in order to push England in this Test series. On the other hand, England will miss Joe Root, who has been ruled out of the series due to personal reasons. Ben Stokes has been named interim captain and will lead England for the opening Test series.
For England, Ollie Pope, Joe Denly and Dominic Bess have retained their place in the 13-man squad announced for the opening Test match. Rory Burns is set to return to the playing XI and will partner Dominic Sibley at the top of the innings.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Ben Stokes, Dominic Sibley and Ollie Pope to make notable contributions with the bat. All-rounder Ben Stokes has been standout player with the bat. Talismanic all-rounder will certainly be looking to put in splendid performances with the bat and ball.
On the bowling front, the side will be depending on the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer. Pacer Mark Wood, spinner Dominic Bess and Chris Woakes are other prominent bowling options or the side.
For West Indies, the big challenge will be to adjust to the English conditions. With no formal warm-up games, the side will be looking to make adequate preparations for the opening game of the series.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on the experienced trio of Craig Brathwaite, Shai Hope and Roston Chase to deliver the bulk of the runs. Despite Brathwaite and Hope recent poor form in Test cricket.
In his last trip to England in 2017, Shai Hope finished as the leading run-scorer for West Indies in the three-match Test series. He accumulated 375 runs at an average of 75.00 with two centuries and one half-centuries.
Wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich, all-rounder Jason Holder and Shamarh Brooks have done well for the side in red-ball cricket.
Jermaine Blackwood, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Nkrumah Bonner and Raymon Riefer are other prominent batting options for the West Indies.
In the bowling department, the onus will be the experienced players like Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel to make early inroads with the new-ball.
Pacer Kemar Roach holds an excellent record for the side against England. In 10 Test matches, Roach has claimed 42 wickets at an average of 26.59 with two five-wicket hauls to his name. Besides Roach, Shannon Gabriel has been consistent performer for the side in Test cricket.
Jason Holder has put in excellent performances for the side in the longest format of the game. Uncapped Chemar Holder has earned his maiden call-up to the side after doing well in the domestic first-class competition. Alzarri Joseph is another premier pace option for West Indies in this three-match Test series.
The opening match of the three-match series will be played at Ageas Bowl in Southampton from 8 till 12th July. The second game of the series will be played at Manchester from 16th till 20th July. The third and final game of the series will be played at Manchester from 24th till 28th July.
Remember, this is going to be the first international series since Covid-19 Pandemic struck across the globe.
