England and West Indies will do battle over a three-match Test series when cricket returns following the coronavirus pandemic.
The two sides will first meet at the Rose Bowl in Southampton before a double-header at Old Trafford at the end of the month.
West Indies haven’t played Test match cricket since a routine victory over Afghanistan at the end of 2019 but landed a 2-1 success against England in the reverse tour 18 months ago.
England, meanwhile, will be determined to back up their Test series success in South Africa. Here we will take a look at what the series has in store highlight the best free cricket tips and predictions.
England vs West Indies 2020 – Test Schedule
The teams will play three Test Matches in the space of just 20 days. The first match will take place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton before the final two are both held at Old Trafford.
1st Test: Wednesday 8th July 2020
Venue: Rose Bowl, Southampton
Start Time: 14:30 (IST), 11:00 (GMT)
2nd Test: Thursday 16th July 2020
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Start Time: 14:30 (IST), 11:00 (GMT)
3rd Test: Friday 24th July 2020
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Start Time: 14:30 (IST), 11:00 (GMT)
England vs West Indies 2020 – Test Squads
England have picked Dom Bess ahead of both Jack Leach and Moeen Ali, while Jos Buttler keeps the gloves ahead of Ben Foakes.
The homes side are also without Joe Root due to the birth of his child. It means Ben Stokes will take the role as skipper for the first Test.
It looks like England will go with a top order of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly and Stokes.
The West Indies have already named their 25-man touring squad, consisting of a 14-man match squad and 11 reserves.
They will be without all-rounder Keemo Paul and batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer after the trio opted out of the tour due to concerns over COVID-19.
Shai Hope will be crucial once more for the Windies, as will skipper Jason Holder and opener Kraigg Brathwaite.
Bowler Kemar Roach had joy against the England batsmen in the previous two series. He will be joined by Alzarri Joseph and newcomer Chemar Holder.
England vs West Indies – Squads
| England |
West Indies |
| Ben Stokes (captain) |
Jason Holder (captain) |
| James Anderson |
Jermaine Blackwood |
| Jofra Archer |
Nkrumah Bonner |
| Dom Bess |
Kraigg Brathwaite |
| Stuart Broad |
Shamarh Brooks |
| Rory Burns |
John Campbell |
| Jos Buttler |
Roston Chase |
| Zak Crawley |
Rahkeem Cornwall |
| Joe Denly |
Shane Dowrich |
| Ollie Pope |
Chemar Holder |
| Dom Sibley |
Shai Hope |
| Chris Woakes |
Alzarri Joseph |
| Mark Wood |
Raymon Reifer |
|
Kemar Roach |
England Reserves: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone.
West Indies Reserves: Sunil Ambris, Joshua da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shane Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican.
England vs West Indies 2020 – Test Preview, Latest Odds and Predictions
We will have match preview pieces available for each of the individual Test matches that make up this series.
These will include our best bets and free cricket tips for those individual games.
As for the series overall, it is England that are made the overwhelming favourites at 1.10 (1/10) with bet365.
The West Indies can be backed at 17.00 (16/1), with the draw priced up at 10.00 (9/1).
Windies capable of avoiding a whitewash
While it is hard to look beyond an England win, West Indies could be capable of avoiding the series whitewash.
An overall series score of 2-1 to England is available at 5.50 (9/2) with bet365, with 2-0 England priced at 3.50 (5/2).
Indeed, if you do think the Windies are capable of picking up one victory in the three-match series, then backing them in a series handicap 3-way could prove appealing.
A tied series with the West Indies given the benefit of +1 handicap is priced at 4.33 (10/3) with bet365. A Windies win under the same handicap is 8.00 (7/1).
Chemar Holder to have an impact in England
Young pace bowler Chemar Holder is expected to do well in England and could be a value bet to be his team’s top series wicket-taker at 8.00 (7/1) with bet365.
The 22-year-old comes into this on the back of an impressive domestic season and his odds could be much shorter if he starts with a bang in Southampton.
