In October 2021, England Cricket Board announced with the confirmation that England will travel to the West Indies for playing 5 T20 international matches in January 2022. The tournament will begin with the first T20 international match at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 22 January, then the venue will remain the same for the rest of the T20I matches, and 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th T20I will be held on 23, 26, 29 and 30 January 2022. In the initial stage, it was a bilateral series of 3 T20 international matches but now it has extended to 5 T20I matches series.
Considering the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, this series is a good opportunity for both teams to prepare. Playing with West Indies, known as one of the best T20I teams, will be beneficial for England’s players to polish themselves before entering the T20 world cup in 2022.
Currently, England is sitting at the top position in the ICC T20 team ranking and West Indies is placed at the number 9 position. There is a big difference in their ranking but England should not take the Indies easily because they have already faced a defeat in the final of the World Cup in 2016. West Indies has got some of the big power hitters around the world like Chris Gayle, Pollard, who can turn the match anytime.
The pitch of the West Indies is unpredictable; no one knows when it helps spinners or pacers, so England needs to be careful about it. As of Oct 2021, West Indies and England have faced each other 18 times in the T20 international, and England has won 7 matches. On the other hand, West Indies has won 11 matches. In the shortest format of the game, West Indies has dominated England with an average winning percentage of 61.11. Both the teams played their first T20I against each other in June 2007 where West Indies achieved the victory by 15 runs.
