West Indies players arrived in Manchester on Tuesday for the 3-Test series in July
West Indies will play in Southampton and Manchester in bio-secure environments
Earlier on Monday, two planes collected players from various islands in the West Indies
West Indies players, led by captain Jason Holder, arrived in Manchester on Tuesday ahead of the much-anticipated 3-Test series in July against hosts England.
Live action-starved cricket fans are eagerly looking forward to the 3-Test series as it is set to mark the return of international cricket after the forced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
West Indies players and the support staff tested negative for the novel coronavirus before they departed for England. The entire squad will be tested again for Covid-19 before the start of the Test series.
Earlier on Monday, two planes collected players from various islands in the West Indies and they joined a private charter.
The 3-Test series which will be played in a bio-secure environment at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and the Old Trafford in Manchester. The Test series was initially scheduled to be played in June in Oval, Lord’s and Edgbaston but it was postponed due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The 7-week tour will only be held in two venues which are ‘bio secure’ and have hotels attached to the stadiums or nearby the cricket grounds. The players will be quarantined again and then train and play in the bio-secure environment.
There will be no spectators allowed at the three Tests which are being played over just 21 days, starting July 8 in Southampton and at Old Trafford from July 16-20 and again from July 24-28.
A group of reserve players have also travelled with the first team to help the West Indies team prepare for the Test series. Replacements will also be picked from the group of reserve players.
“This is a huge step forward in cricket and in sports in general as we travel over to England for this series,” captain Jason Holder said. “A lot has gone into the preparations for what will be a new phase in the game.”
