International cricket is finally set to resume after a lengthy break due to the coronavirus where England will face West Indies in the three-Test series.
The home team will start the contest as favourites, not because of recent form as there have been no competitive cricket played in the last four months, but largely because of their fourth placing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for teams in the Test format with 105 rating points, considerably better than the ranking of the Caribbean giants as they are placed on the eighth position with just 79 rating points.
The first match of the series will be played in Southampton from July 08, 2020, which will be followed by two matches in Manchester from July 16 and July 24, 2020.
Top picks:
Joe Denly (Batsman)
Joe Denly has starting to cement his spot in the final eleven of the English team across different formats. The 34-year-old has a pretty average record for the national team in the five-day format where he is averaging mere 30 runs per innings and is yet to score a century after 14 matches with the highest of 94. With regular captain Joe Root set to miss the series opener due to personal reasons, the onus will be on the likes of Denly and others to lift their game and produce the goods for the hosts.
Shai Hope (Wicketkeeper)
Shai Hope is West Indies' most established batsman on the tour with some of the notable names decided
International cricket is finally set to resume after a lengthy break due to the coronavirus where England will face West Indies in the three-Test series.
The home team will start the contest as favourites, not because of recent form as there have been no competitive cricket played in the last four months, but largely because of their fourth placing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for teams in the Test format with 105 rating points, considerably better than the ranking of the Caribbean giants as they are placed on the eighth position with just 79 rating points.
The first match of the series will be played in Southampton from July 08, 2020, which will be followed by two matches in Manchester from July 16 and July 24, 2020.
Top picks:
Joe Denly (Batsman)
Joe Denly has starting to cement his spot in the final eleven of the English team across different formats. The 34-year-old has a pretty average record for the national team in the five-day format where he is averaging mere 30 runs per innings and is yet to score a century after 14 matches with the highest of 94. With regular captain Joe Root set to miss the series opener due to personal reasons, the onus will be on the likes of Denly and others to lift their game and produce the goods for the hosts.
Shai Hope (Wicketkeeper)
Shai Hope is West Indies' most established batsman on the tour with some of the notable names decided to stay back home. The 26-year-old has an average record in the five-day format for his national team compared to his performances in white-ball cricket where he is a force to be reckoned with. In the longest form of the game, Hope has managed to score 1,498 runs in 31 matches at an average of 27.23, which included two centuries and five fifties. Therefore, the team management will be hoping that Hope will produce much better performance for Caribbean giants than he already has in his career in the red-ball cricket.
Ben Stokes (All-rounder)
Ben Stokes is renowned as the best all-rounder currently playing in the sport. The 29-year-old has represented England in 63 Tests where he has managed to score 4,056 runs at an average of 36.54 which included nine centuries and 21 half-centuries. With the ball in hand, Stokes has managed to claim 147 wickets with a strike-rate of 59. In the first Test, Stokes will captain the national team for the first time in his career in the absence of Root and the team management will be hoping to see the star performer produce a stellar of performance in the series opener.
James Anderson (Bowler)
James Anderson is undoubtedly England's best bowler in the history of Test cricket. The veteran pacer is set to resume action in competitive cricket after a lengthy injury layoff and then an extended break due to coronavirus crisis. Anderson has represented England in 151 Tests in his career where he has 584 wickets to his name at an average of 26.83.
Battle to watch out for using Roto Wire Player Comparison:
Roston Chase and Stokes will be taking the field for their respective teams in the series opener. Both players are crucial in the composition of West Indies and England teams in Test cricket and therefore, we have decided to see how they fare against each other in the five-day format using the Roto Wire Player Comparison tool. Chase has managed to score just 18 runs in six innings against Stokes with two dismissals whereas England's star all-rounder has managed to score 66 runs against the West Indies' all-rounder in seven innings with three dismissals.
