'Sci-fi' England-Windies opener a new frontier for Test cricketSci-fi cricket - England fast bowler Mark WoodLONDON - It will be Test cricket but not as we've known it when England face the West Indies in the opening match of a "bio-secure" series at Southampton starting on Wednesday. However, a number of anti-virus measures mean next week's match will look like few others in 143 years of Test-match history. For while sparse crowds are not unknown in Test cricket -- particularly when Pakistan play 'home' games in the United Arab Emirates -- this series will be a completely behind closed doors affair. Meanwhile, Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt insisted a $3 million loan from the ECB was a "helping hand" at a time of economic crisis rather than a condition of touring England. "When that Test match starts up, crowd or no crowd, you are going to be really up for it."

Source: Bangkok Post July 05, 2020 01:07 UTC