The majority of the 25-man West Indies squad, set to leave the Caribbean on Tuesday for their three-match Test series against England starting July 8, have already received their covid19 results. The tests all came back negative.

In a Whatsapp message to Newsday, CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Johnny Grave said, “We are waiting on the last few test results to come in…no one has tested positive so far. Everyone will be tested again when they arrive at Old Trafford (in England).”

The Windies contingent, which includes a 14-man squad and 11 reserve players, will all meet in Antigua on Monday. CWI will use two charter flights to get the West Indies players to Antigua One charter will bring the Jamaican players to Antigua and the other players will arrive in Antigua on the other charter. The three TT reserve players on the squad are the fast bowling pair of Shannon Gabriel and Anderson Phillip, along with wicket-keeper batsman Joshua Da Silva.

Darren Bravo of TT, Guyanese Shimron Hetmyer, along with all-rounder Keemo Paul of Guyana, decided not to make the trip to England due to covid19 safety concerns.

West Indies will be based in Manchester for three weeks before travelling to Southampton for the first Test at Ageas Bowl. The Jason Holder-led team will return to Manchester for the second and third matches at the Emirates, Old Trafford starting on July 16 and 24 respectively. The tour was uncertain for months due to covid19, but CWI and the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed to play.

The entire series will be played behind closed doors and the Windies players will remain in a bio-secure environment. (T&T Newsday)