West Indies v England, Test series: TV channels, schedule, team news - All you need to know

The Cricketer runs through the match dates, start times, team news, squads, TV and streaming information, and more for the upcoming series

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What is it?

West Indies host England in three Tests, which contribute towards the 2021/23 World Test Championship cycle.

When is it?

First Test: March 8-12 - Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound (10am local time, 2pm UK time)

Second Test: March 16-20 - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown (10am local time, 2pm UK time)

Third Test: March 24-28 - National Cricket Stadium, St. George's (10am local time, 2pm UK time)

Who’s involved?

England will begin the post-Chris Silverwood and Ashley Giles era without the two most successful bowlers in their international history.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have taken 1,177 Test wickets between them but will have a watching brief for the series after being left behind.

Temporary managing director Andrew Strauss helped choose the squad but has offered a route back into the fold in time for the summer, which includes series against New Zealand and South Africa, as well as a one-off Test against India.

Paul Collingwood leads the squad as interim head coach after the dismissal of Silverwood as head coach, while Joe Root remains as captain but will move up to No.3 in the batting order.

Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns and Dom Bess are also missing from the 4-0 Ashes series defeat to Australia.

Alex Lees is the latest player to be given a go at the top of the order, alongside Zak Crawley while Ben Foakes will have another spell with the gloves.

A depleted seam attack will be led by Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Craig Overton.

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James Anderson and Stuart Broad are missing for England (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Though West Indies are winless in their last three Test series they haven't faced the same kind of dilemmas regarding selection.

The squad for the first Test is without Shannon Gabriel, who is nursing a hamstring injury, and there is no place for Jeremy Solozano.

Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shai Hope and Jomel Warrican are also missing for the hosts.

Uncapped seamer Anderson Phillip is in contention as is opener batter John Campbell, who is back in the fold for the first time since the victory over Bangladesh.

Windies are protecting a record of having suffered just one home series defeat to England in the last 50 years - in 2004 the tourists won 3-0 thanks to a bowling attack led by Steve Harmison - and they will fancy extending that streak while Root's side undergoes a transition.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Joshua da Silva (wkt), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales

England: Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Matthew Fisher, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

What are the odds?

England are evens to win the series, while West Indies are available at 11/5. The draw is at 4/1.

Will fans be permitted?

This will be one of the best-attended Test series by an away travelling support since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, with England's Barmy Army having sold out their allocation for the Test series.

January's T20 series in Barbados was essentially a dry-run ahead of the three Tests, with fully vaccinated fans only permitted to attend - a stipulation that remains for these matches too.

Additionally, at least 14 days must have elapsed between an individual becoming "fully vaccinated" and the day of the match they are due to attend.

The Kensington Oval ran at 50 per cent capacity for those T20s, but that figure is expected to rise to around 80 per cent.

Locals are being offered tickets at half price in order to ensure venues are sold out. The discount can be activated by presenting a passport or national ID at the ticket office.

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Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph will lead the Windies attack (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)

Where can I follow it?

In the UK, BT Sport have exclusive rights to the Tests this winter. BT Sport 1 (Sky 413, BT 408, Virgin 527, TalkTalk 408, Plusnet TV 408) will show every ball of the series.

Talksport 2 will have live ball-by-ball commentary and is accessible through their app or a DAB digital radio.

In the Caribbean, ESPN will carry live pictures of all three Tests.

Fans located in India can tune in via Fancode, while in New Zealand Sky Sport will again cover the matches.

ATN Cricket Plus have the rights in Canada while footage in the US can be accessed via ESPN+

In South Africa, the SuperSport network will show the Tests.

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