England repays gratitude to West Indies with expanded tour

England has repaid a debt of gratitude to the West Indies by agreeing to a lucrative expansion of its touring commitments next year.

The respective boards have added a third match to the proposed two-test series and increased the originally scheduled three-match Twenty20 series by a further two fixtures. The schedule was announced on Wednesday.

The West Indies were instrumental in rousing international cricket from its shutdown last summer, with the men’s squad travelling to England at the height of the coronavirus outbreak for a world-first so-called “bio-secure” series and the women’s team following suit.

That helped the England and Wales Cricket Board avert crippling financial losses as it staged a full men’s international schedule, and a dialogue was quickly opened around how the goodwill might be turned into something more tangible.

Cricket West Indies estimates that each test match is worth more than 18 million pounds ($24.7 million) to a host island, with T20s valued at almost 3 million pounds ($4.1 million), meaning England’s tour could now bring almost 25 million pounds ($34.25 million) more to the region as a result of these changes.

The trip will be split in two, with the T20s taking place from Jan. 28-Feb. 5 and the test leg coming in March. The T20s will not clash directly with England’s Ashes series though if quarantine arrangements remain in place, it may prove logistically difficult for players to be involved in both.