England vs West Indies 1st Test: The new norms post COVID-19 pandemic, squad and timings

The international cricket is set to resume on Wednesday (July 8) when Jason Holder-led West Indies Test team will take on Ben Stoke’s England Test team at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, England.

Ben Stokes will lead England for the first time in Test as regular captain Joe Root has to be with his wife, Carrie, who is expecting their second child.

The return of international cricket after more than three months of COVID-19 halt will see both teams competing in a three-match Test series.

Holder will be leading the West Indies side for the 33rd time in Test cricket will aim to win the series as his team has not won a series in England since 1988.

He is also the World’s no 1 Test all-rounder and will look to hold on to his position against Ben Stokes who is at the second spot. The West Indies skipper is also 102 runs shy of becoming only the third Caribbean player to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets.

From non-usage of saliva on the ball to COVID-19 substitutes, there will be a lot of changes during the match between England and West Indies. Here’s a look at them all:

1. No-saliva on the ball: The players will not be allowed to use saliva on the ball in order to curb the spread of coronavirus. If found guilty of applying saliva on the ball , the team will be issued two warnings after which a 5-run penalty will be levied. The players are allowed to use sweat on the ball.

2. Virus substitutes: The coronavirus substitutes will be allowed in a case where one of the team member tests positive for the disease.

3. Non-Neutral officials: The rule to use neutral umpires in order to have a ‘fair game’ was followed for quite some time but due to coronavirus, non-neutral umpires will be used in the match.

4. Extra DRS Reviews: The absence of experienced umpires will be compensated by allowing the teams to use 3 unsuccessful reviews in each innings in Tests and 2 in ODIs and T20s.

5. No spectators: The match will be played in empty stadium due to coronavirus pandemic.

Schedule:

1st Test: July 8-12, Ageas Bowl, Southampton
2nd Test: July 16-20, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
3rd Test: July 24-28, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester

Telecast details:

All the three matches will start at 3:30 PM IST. The matches will have a live telecast on Sony Six and can also be watched live on the Sony LIV app.

Full squad:

England: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

West Indies: Jason Holder (C), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich (WKT), Shannon Gabriel, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach