The West Indies vs England 1st Test will commence on March 8 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
The two teams will battle it out for the newly-created Richards-Botham trophy, named after West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards and England star Sir Ian Botham.
The hosts will be aiming to continue the momentum of the 5 match T20 series which the hosts won 3-2.
Also The visitors are coming after a horrible 4-0 Ashes defeat and will be without their two key pacers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Both Windies and England are sitting at the bottom two spots of the WTC 2022-23 points table and will be hoping for a significant change in positions after the conclusion of the series.
Led by Kraig Braithwaite, the hosts seem to have an upper hand.
After leading West Indies to a memorable 2-0 win in Bangladesh in February 2021, Brathwaite has seen the team’s fortunes dip, with a drawn home series against Sri Lanka followed by three consecutive defeats.
West Indies can draw on a strong home record against England, however, and Brathwaite was confident that the hosts have enough firepower to maintain their edge.
“As a team, we’re really looking forward to it,” Brathwaite said. “We’re feeling confident, and maybe not worrying about England’s team, but what we do as a team and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.
“It means a lot [playing England], obviously the Barmy Army comes down and gives you a nice atmosphere. We always look forward to this series, especially at home. And we look forward to the challenge. They have some quality cricketers still, so when we do well, you know it’s still a good feeling.
“I think the series itself is always different to every other series we have. We’re generally very good at home, especially the bowlers do a fantastic job at home. And obviously it’s also our job as batters to get runs, but the series always has a lot of energy and at times that can inspire guys.”
Brathwaite’s predecessor Jason Holder was able to carry the proud tradition on, sealing a 2-1 win over England when they last visited in 2019. He has since passed on the reins, leaving him to focus on his own all-rounder’s battle with Ben Stokes.
WI continue preparation for the upcoming Apex Test Series in Antigua #MenInMaroon #WIvENG 🏏🌴 pic.twitter.com/SjtSSxt0SR
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) March 7, 2022
Holder has been a thorn in England’s side previously averaging 62.83 with the bat and 24.93 with the ball in five home games against them and is being backed to rise to the occasion again.
“Jason looks forward to each challenge and obviously Stokesy is a world class all-rounder,” said Brathwaite.
“Those two guys will possibly be at it, but Jason is a quality cricketer and I guarantee he’ll continue to show that for us. At times it can be motivating, because those guys are world class both with the bat and the ball and then sometimes in the field, you know, doing something special too.
“So for us it inspires us and we always look forward to seeing it to be honest.”