The Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive has said that there is a plan to send a 25-man squad to England for the upcoming three-Test series on June 8 to be played in bio-secure stadiums with no spectators.
"From where we sit at the moment, based on the information we have, based on the fact that every day there are less and fewer cases in the UK everyone is getting increasingly confident that the tour will happen at some point. Our board meeting is on May 28. If the tour has to take place, by the start of June we would need to have the board approval and support by then in order to get the charter flight logistics in place and select the players,” Johnny Grave said to ESPNCricinfo.com.
England, West Indies engage in "positive discussions" over Test series rescheduling
The players would take privately sourced tests for COVID-19 three or four days before the departure date. They would then convene at a base in Antigua and fly out in one aircraft on the same day.
"We are in the final stages of discussions with the ECB and they are in the final stages of finalizing their plans in order to get the UK government and ECB board support. We are expecting to get a formal offer to tour England probably by the end of the month so that we can get our board's approval and the players can potentially leave the region in early June," he said.
The three Tests are scheduled to begin July 8, July 16, and July 24 respectively, with the venues still to be finalized.
“Good progress is being made and we are getting closer to that final plan for our board to effectively sign off on the tour and ask the selectors to choose the squad and the players to confirm their participation," Graves said.
Meanwhile, West Indies Test captain Jason Holder said he wouldn't force anyone to tour England if they have fears. Grave says there is still some apprehension among players and support staff about leaving their families for seven weeks, traveling to Britain, and playing in bio-secure venues, but that no player has said formally he does not want to tour.
(ESPNCricinfo.com inputs)
