Today, Tuesday 8th March will see the commencement of the first test match of the current series, between West Indies and England.
England’s new-look lineup will have its first litmus test and West Indies will be hoping to do well on home soil, in order to keep their fan base happy.
The teams are competing for the Richards/Botham trophy.
West Indies (possible) team
1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Veerasammy Permaul, 11 Jayden Seales
England (probable) team
1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dan Lawrence, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jack Leach
Stats and trivia
* England has never won a Test in Antigua in nine-and-a-bit attempts spanning 31 years. They were beaten in three of their seven visits to the old Recreation Ground between 1981 and 2009 and also lost by ten wickets on their third and most recent visit to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in 2019. That tally also includes the so-called “sandpit Test” of 2009, which was called off after ten balls due to an unfit outfield.
* Kemar Roach, with 231 Test wickets, needs another five to go pass the tally of the great Sir Garfield Sobers. Only six West Indians have taken more than Sobers – including five all-time great fast bowlers in Walsh, Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding.