England Women have confirmed a wide-ranging programme of red-ball cricket for 2027, ensuring more opportunities for more players to gain experience in the format ahead of the Metro Bank Women’s Ashes.

In addition to a 10-day red-ball specific training camp in Bangalore in January ahead of the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy, England Women will play four red-ball matches before their Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley in June.

With the current domestic structure unable to afford many opportunities for players to experience multi-day red-ball cricket, England Women’s management have focused on finding the best outcome to ensure that the team are as well-prepared as possible for the challenge of facing Australia across four days next summer.

The new plans will include a three-day game against Australia A in the run-up to that Test match which starts on June 24th.

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Preparation

There will also be a further three red-ball best v best matches on English soil providing competition for places in the same conditions as the players will find for the Ashes.

At least two of the intra-squad matches will give England selectors a chance to assess a wider group of players in the format who will be at the forefront of their minds when it comes to settling on a squad for the Ashes, while providing valuable red-ball practice to England’s players.

Accommodating this thorough programme of preparation in home conditions has necessitated revising the schedule of matches for England Women’s tour to West Indies in April, which is due to take place once the English domestic season is already under way.

The ECB is grateful to Cricket West Indies for agreeing to its request, and for the understanding and collaborative approach taken in these discussions.

The tour will therefore now feature three IT20s and three ODIs only, as there is insufficient time to accommodate the Test match which had originally been anticipated.

Dates and venues for England Women’s tour of West Indies will be confirmed by Cricket West Indies in due course, but it will take place following the opening round of Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches that will involve all England players.

Highlights

ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould said: “We are all hugely excited by the prospect of England Women taking on Australia Women in their Metro Bank Ashes Test at Headingley next summer.

“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.

“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.

“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.”