End of 2023 limited-overs tour to the West Indies will include England Men’s first trip back to Trinidad since 2009.
From December 3 to December 21, England will travel to Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad as part of a trip that comprises three ODIs and five T20Is.
The first two One Day Internationals will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, with each island hosting two games.
With the fourth and fifth T20Is at Trinidad’s Brian Lara Academy, the tour will come to an end the week before Christmas. All 28 of England’s previous games in the nation were played at Queen’s Park Oval, therefore this will be the first time they play at the stadium. The last of these was a 20-over match that West Indies won by six wickets in March 2009.
Given the timing of this tour, England is probably going to send a smaller team, like they occasionally did during the winter before.
14 days have passed since the 50-over World Cup final in India, and Jos Buttler‘s team, the reigning champions, anticipates advancing to the elimination rounds in the opening game.
A handful of backup players were selected for the ODI series against Australia last year, which came just after their victory in the T20 World Cup.
Even though there won’t be any Test matches between then and the end of the year, unlike in 2022 when Pakistan was the opponent, some players will probably ask for time off before returning to India for a five-match Test series that will begin in January 2024.
A situation similar to the one that developed for the March white-ball tour of Bangladesh is then likely to occur as a result. Calls to players lower on the pecking order started the day after the New Zealand Test series concluded.
Several were rejected by those who wanted to honor more lucrative contracts at the concurrent Pakistan Super League, which was taking place.
The Big Bash League and the West Indies tour will collide. The SA20 and ILT20 second seasons, which are scheduled to start in January, are also right before the West Indies visit.
Due to the high demand for English and West Indian talent, players may choose to hold out for other competitions in order to receive better pay, which might make the series a second-XI affair.
In order to prevent a repeat of the Bangladesh trip, men’s managing director Rob Key and ECB chief executive Richard Gould promised to raise match payments.
The size of those increases will be crucial. Those without central contracts can currently make £5,000 and £2,500 for any ODI and T20I performances, respectively, in addition to a tour fee.
Johnny Grave, the Chief Executive of Cricket West Indies, stated the following in a statement following the tour’s announcement:
“We are delighted to be able to confirm the England match schedule and to welcome once again their many travelling fans to the region for a pre-Christmas white-ball tour.”
“This tour will be a major economic boost to the host countries, as well as providing our fans with the chance to see some of their favorite players in action against one of our biggest rivals.”
“The tour will also help with our ongoing venue preparation and event planning for one of the biggest events ever to be staged in the region, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which takes place in June next year.”