Following disastrous campaigns at the 2023 Cricket World Cup (CWC) – where the West Indies failed to qualify, and England were knocked out in the group stage – the four-year CWC cycle begins once again in the Caribbean as the two teams meet for a three-game One Day International series.
The tour begins on Sunday, December 3 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, with a second game taking place on Wednesday, December 6 at the same venue. The series finale sees the two sides visit the island of Barbados for a game at the Kensington Oval on Saturday, December 9.
England, despite their disappointing World Cup performance, are priced at 2/9 to claim the series victory, with the West Indies a 10/3 outsider. That translates to the odds in the first ODI, with England 1/3 to take the win compared to the West Indies at 12/5.
England have a vastly different squad to that which failed to make an impact in India. Captain Jos Buttler is the only member of England's six batters ranked in the world's top 50 to make the trip, with the likes of Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Phil Salt given opportunities to shine in the Caribbean.
Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse are the five other players to make the tour from October's World Cup squad.
West Indies, meanwhile, will call on the 16th ranked batter in ODI cricket, Shai Hope, as part of their lineup with paceman Alzarri Joseph is a top 30 bowler in the world. The hosts, like England, have chosen to trial some inexperienced heads for this bi-lateral series.
Ben Duckett, who was not selected for the World Cup, is likely to earn an opportunity to open the batting for England at some point on the tour. He averages 43.00 over eight ODI innings, with two fifties and a century batting at three and four. He's a swashbuckling stroke maker with four or more boundaries hit in four of his eight ODI innings.
Zak Crawley will also be ultra-aggressive at the top of the order. He averages 37.00 across five ODI innings with two half centuries. He has hit at least six boundaries in three of five outings. Harry Brook had a disappointing World Cup, but has all the talent in the world and could enjoy the often-docile pitches of the Caribbean.
WI captain Shai Hope averages above 50 in an ODI career that spans 113 innings, showing he is one of the best in the world in the format. Against an inexperienced England bowling attack, he could have a profitable series. In his last jaunt at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, he notched scores of 110, 84 and 64 against Sri Lanka in March 2021.
With the ball, Alzarri Joseph is the star name on either side. He has multiple-wicket performances in seven of his last nine matches and boasts six wickets in his four appearances at the Antigua venue. He recorded his career best figures (5/56) against England in 2017.
