England’s tour of the West Indies 2019: 1st Test teams, squads, start times, fixtures, TV

James Anderson has warned his England team-mates that they will need to be on top form against a fired-up West Indies side in the upcoming Test series.   

The first of three Test matches starts on Wednesday 23 January at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, and England fast bowler Anderson told The Guardian: “Whenever we come here you get the feeling that West Indies really want to beat England.

“It’s something that’s been ingrained in them, especially in the past when England have suffered heavy defeats. You can see it in the players’ eyes when you play against them and that means we’ve got to be on top form to be able to try and challenge them.”

In November England won 3-0 in the Test series in Sri Lanka and come into the Caribbean tour third in the ICC rankings.

Anderson, 36, added: “We’ve not had much of a break since Sri Lanka so that’s pretty fresh in our minds and everyone has come here in really good shape and ready to go.”

We will bowl first! %uD83E%uDD81%uD83E%uDD81%uD83E%uDD81#WIvENG

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 23, 2019

Teams for the 1st Test

England captain Joe Root included two spinners – Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali – for the first Test against the West Indies. There was no place for Stuart Broad as Sam Curran was selected.

Root said: “It came down to a gut call. Sam has been excellent since he has been involved in the Test side. It strengthens our batting and gives us a different angle attack. There is plenty of variation.

“Adil and Moeen are the spinners we’ve gone for and Stuart Broad is the very unlucky seamer to miss out. There are some terribly difficult decisions to make at the moment with the strength of this squad but it shows where we’ve come as a team, it shows how strong we are as a group and how much depth there is at the moment.”

The West Indies have not picked a spin bowler. Alzarri Joseph is included instead of Jomel Warrican.

Teams

• West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shane Dowrich (wicketkeeper), Jason Holder (captain), Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel
• England XI: Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, James Anderson

1st Test start time and TV channel

The opening Test match between the West Indies and England starts on Wednesday at 2pm UK time. The first Test will be live on Sky Sports Cricket. 

Antigua hosts the second Test from 31 January to 4 February and the third and final Test takes place from 9-13 February in St Lucia.

As well as the three Test matches, England take on the Windies in five one-day internationals (ODI) and three Twenty20 (T20) games.

Squads

England 16-man Test squad

Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Jack Leach (Somerset), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire); Mark Wood (Durham)

West Indies Test squad

Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Oshane Thomas (cover for Joseph)

England 15-man ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Liam Plunkett (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)

Fixtures and TV guide (all times UK)

Test matches

• 23-27 January 2019: 1st Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados (2pm)
• 31 January-4 February 2019: 2nd Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (2pm)
• 9-13 February 2019: 3rd Test at Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium, St Lucia (2pm)

One-day warm-up match

• 17 February 2019: Vice Chancellor’s XI vs. England (2pm; Three Ws Oval, Barbados)

One-day international (ODI) matches

• 20 February 2019: 1st ODI at Kensington Oval, Barbados (3pm)
• 22 February 2019: 2nd ODI at Kensington Oval, Barbados (3pm)
• 25 February 2019: 3rd ODI at National Cricket Stadium, Grenada (1.30pm)
• 27 February 2019: 4th ODI at National Cricket Stadium, Grenada (1.30pm)
• 2 March 2019: 5th ODI at Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium, St Lucia (3pm)

International Twenty20s (IT20)

• 5 March 2019: 1st IT20 at Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium, St Lucia (8pm)
• 8 March 2019: 2nd IT20 at Warner Park, St Kitts and Nevis (8pm)
• 10 March 2019: 3rd IT20 at Warner Park, St Kitts and Nevis (8pm)

How to watch on TV

The West Indies vs. England cricket series will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket. Sky’s punditry team will include David Lloyd, Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton.