England scrap West Indies Test for red-ball Ashes prep at home

England have scrapped a women's Test match in West Indies this spring with the majority of their red-ball preparations ahead of the 2027 Ashes to take place at home.Charlotte Edwards' side were due to play cricket in the Caribbean across all three formats in April but the tour will now consist of three one-day internationals and as many T20s. An ECB statement read that there was "insufficient time to accommodate the Test match" as part of a tour that will begin after the first round of Metro Bank One Day Cup matches, during which all England players will be involved. Listen to latest episode of the Sky Sports Cricket PodcastGet the latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contractWhat cricket is live on Sky Sports and when? Full TV listingsExact dates will be released by Cricket West Indies in due course. Image: England women head coach Charlotte Edwards will see her squad play four red-ball matches ahead of the Women's Ashes Test at Headingley next June A four-day Test at Headingley from June 24-27 will kick off next summer's Women's Ashes, followed by three T20s and three ODIs in July. England, who have not won a home women's Test since 2005 and not secured victory in the multi-format Ashes series since 2014, will head to India in January for a 10-day red-ball training camp. A host of multi-day matches are then scheduled for the home summer.Plans feature a three-dayer against Australia A in the run-up to the Ashes Test in Leeds and three best-vs-best, intra-squad matches in order to build competition for places. Image: Amy Jones hit two fifties in this summer's Women's Test at Lord's but England still suffered a heavy defeat ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: "We are all hugely excited by the prospect of England Women taking on Australia Women in their Ashes Test at Headingley."It will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the summer and is worth four points in the multi-format series, so it is important that our players have the right preparation leading into the match and are given the best chance to succeed."Gould added: "Best versus best in English conditions provides a valuable opportunity for the team."It also allows us to assess our strength in depth, give opportunities to more players and get a number of competitive multi-day cricket matches across a longer period into the wider group."We appreciate the constructive conversations with Cricket West Indies that have enabled us to look forward to an exciting tour of the Caribbean before focusing our attentions back on our home summer."