England cancel West Indies Test to focus on Ashes warm-ups

England have cancelled their scheduled women's Test in the West Indies for April and will instead ready for the Women's Ashes with a series of red‑ball fixtures in the United Kingdom, according to the ECB.

Nat Sciver-Brunt's side have only contested one Test – a heavy defeat by India at Lord's – since their last four‑day encounter with Australia in January 2025, which they lost by an innings in Melbourne. The next summer's Test against Australia, worth four points in the multi‑format series, is set for Headingley from 24 to 27 June.

England plan four red‑ball matches, including a three‑day game versus Australia A and two intra‑squad "best v best" contests. A specialised red‑ball training camp will take place in Bangalore in January, and the board expects to involve 26 or 27 players across the various camps and matches.

The West Indies programme has been trimmed to three T20s and three one‑day internationals. While earlier reports suggested the ECB might need to provide financial aid to Cricket West Indies, sources say the decision is driven by performance considerations to give England the best chance of winning the Ashes. CWI chief executive Chris Dehring said: "We would welcome any assistance of our much wealthier member boards," adding, "It is very expensive to host cricket in the Caribbean." ECB chief executive Richard Gould stated: "A 10-day warm-weather red-ball camp in India followed by four further matches in English conditions will provide Charlotte Edwards and her team with the appropriate game time to be ready for that challenge [of Australia]," and 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."