Windies land for historic Test

CRICKET

THE West Indies became the first international sports team to arrive in the UK since the coronavirus lockdown when they landed in Manchester on Tuesday.

The Test squad will spend three weeks at the Hilton Garden Inn at Lancashire’s Emirates Old Trafford, which they will use as their quarantine base and to train ahead of their three-match series against England.

They will then travel to Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl for the first Test starting on July 8, before returning to Manchester to play the second and third matches in the series both at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on July 16 and July 24.

All games will be behind closed doors.

They will be the first international team clashes on these shores since the UK was put in lockdown over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirates Old Trafford has become a bio-secure ground, with measures implemented to keep the number of people at the venue to a minimum.

Staff will have their temperatures taken on arrival, and those who come in direct contact with the players and officials will have to stay on site to create a virus-free ‘bubble’.

For Lancashire, who are bringing several members of staff off furlough while the West Indies are on site and to prepare for the two Tests, it is a welcome financial boost, with the hotel - which they run - likely to be booked out by the England and Wales Cricket Board until around September. The club also receive a ‘staging fee’ from the game’s governing body.

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