Kane Williamson gets his hands on the Test Mace © Getty Images
New Zealand and South Africa will be England’s Test opponents in the 2022 home season, while India will return for a six-match white-ball tour, as the ECB confirmed the dates and venues for next summer’s men’s international fixtures.
New Zealand, the current holders of the ICC Test mace after winning the inaugural World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl earlier this year, will contest a three-match LV= Insurance series in June, 12 months on from beating England 1-0 in a two-match encounter this summer.
Unlike the last two series involving the teams, both of which were additional bilateral engagements, New Zealand’s latest tour will form part of the WTC calculations ahead of the next final in 2023.
The New Zealand series will begin at Lord’s on Thursday, June 2 before continuing at Trent Bridge (June 10-14) and Emerald Headingley (June 23-27).
England will then contest all of their home white-ball matches in July, with a three-match Vitality T20I series beginning at Emirates Old Trafford on July 1 before matches at Trent Bridge (July 3) and the Ageas Bowl (July 6). A three-match Royal London Series follows with matches at Edgbaston (July 9), the Kia Oval (July 12) and Lord’s (July 14).
South Africa’s tour will begin with a three-match ODI series in the north of England, at Emirates Riverside (July 19), Emirates Old Trafford (July 22) and Emerald Headingley (July 24).
A T20I series will then follow at Bristol (July 27), Cardiff (July 28) and The Ageas Bowl (July 31).
The men’s summer schedule concludes with three Tests against South Africa. Lord’s will host the first LV= Insurance Test (August 17-21) before the series moves to Edgbaston (August 25-29) and the Kia Oval (September 8-12).
“It has been a scintillating summer of cricket and so good to see crowds back packing out venues later this summer,” Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said. “For next summer, I am pleased to be able to confirm three high-quality men’s international touring teams for 2022, starting with a three-Test LV= Insurance Series against World Test Champions New Zealand.
“We also look forward to India returning for two white-ball series before we host South Africa for what promises to be hard-fought series across three formats, including three LV= Insurance Test Matches.”
It has also been confirmed that 2022 Vitality Blast Finals Day will be staged at Edgbaston on Saturday July 16. Further details for the 2022 England Women’s home schedule and the structure of the men’s and women’s domestic seasons will be announced in due course.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo