The England and Wales Cricket Board could consider helping to fund England Women’s planned Test in the West Indies if financial support is required to ensure the fixture takes place, according to ECB chair Richard Thompson.
The Test is scheduled to form part of a multi-format tour in the spring of 2027, before England attempt to regain the Women’s Ashes from Australia. Thompson said the ECB hoped the match would go ahead and indicated that the board would examine the position should a request for help arise.
The potential intervention has become more relevant after Cricket West Indies announced a range of cost-saving measures last week, including reductions to player contracts. In March, a women’s Test that West Indies had been due to host against Australia was cancelled, although the accompanying white-ball series went ahead.
The BBC reported that there had been no discussions between the ECB and Cricket West Indies about cancelling the Test. It said the wider tour was not under threat, although its precise venues and dates were still to be confirmed.
A red-ball fixture with a specific purpose
England’s Caribbean itinerary is due to include three T20 internationals and three one-day internationals as well as the Test. Thompson said the red-ball match was particularly important because England’s opening fixture of the Ashes will be the Test at Headingley.
That makes the West Indies match a potentially valuable competitive preparation rather than simply one element of a white-ball tour. England have played only one Test since their Ashes tour of Australia in early 2025, when they lost to India at Lord’s earlier this year. The side also suffered defeat in every match of that Australia trip.
Thompson said England needed an effective red-ball warm-up before Headingley and that the ECB would prefer it to take place in the West Indies. His comments did not amount to a commitment of funding, but they established that the ECB was willing to consider an unusual solution if the fixture’s viability became an issue.
The BBC reported that host boards generally cover logistical costs for visiting sides, including travel and accommodation. It said those costs can be especially high in the Caribbean because teams may need to travel between islands. Cricket West Indies said last week that it had spent more than $80m on domestic air travel over the past 15 years. The BBC said those inter-island travel requirements can affect both West Indies and visiting players. Any ECB contribution, should one be considered, would therefore concern an arrangement outside the usual expectation that the host board meets the visiting side’s logistical expenses.
England’s wider Ashes preparation
The planned West Indies Test would be England’s first against the hosts since 1979. West Indies have not played a women’s Test against any opponent since touring Pakistan in 2004, underlining how infrequently the format has featured in their recent schedule.
England are also preparing other red-ball work before the Ashes. The squad will take part in a 10-day red-ball training camp in India in January. Plans for domestic players potentially to be involved in red-ball cricket early next season are being finalised, while a warm-up arrangement involving England A and Australia A could be repeated.
England and Australia used A sides as Test preparation in 2023. Those plans, alongside the India camp and the prospective West Indies fixture, suggest the ECB is seeking more structured preparation for a series that begins with the only men’s or women’s Test scheduled north of Nottingham next summer.
For now, the proposed Test remains on the programme announced in 2024. The key point is that Thompson expects it to be played, while accepting that the ECB may need to assess financial support if Cricket West Indies’ circumstances make that necessary. Any such decision would depend on a situation that has not yet arisen.