England Vs West Indies Women's Test: Who Will Foot The Bill For Crucial 2027 Ashes Warm-Up?

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could provide financial assistance to Cricket West Indies (CWI) to ensure a women’s Test between England and West Indies goes ahead in the Caribbean next year.

The Test is part of England’s multi-format tour of the West Indies, scheduled for April and May 2027, and comes with the women’s Ashes against Australia due to begin two months later.

The Test was confirmed in 2024, but concerns over CWI’s finances have raised questions about whether the match will be staged.

CWI announced a series of cost-cutting measures last week, including reductions to player contracts. Earlier this year, a planned women’s Test between West Indies and Australia was cancelled, although the white-ball matches on that tour went ahead.

There have been no discussions between the ECB and CWI about cancelling the England Test, and the wider tour is also not considered to be under threat. The three T20Is and three ODIs scheduled alongside the Test are expected to go ahead, although the dates and venues are yet to be finalised.

ECB chair Richard Thompson told BBC Sport that he expected the Test to take place and said there were no indications at present that it would be called off.

Asked whether the ECB could step in financially if CWI needed assistance to stage the match, Thompson said the board would "look at" the situation if that became necessary.

Under the usual reciprocal arrangements between cricket boards, the host nation is responsible for the visiting team's travel and accommodation costs. Hosting matches in the Caribbean can involve additional expenses because teams and players may need to travel between different islands.

CWI revealed last week that it had spent more than $80 million on domestic air travel over the past 15 years.

Thompson pointed to Zimbabwe's men's Test in England last year as an example of the ECB providing financial support. The visiting team received a touring fee from the English board for that fixture.

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"We want that Test to play out. It is very important for us because our first women’s match in the Ashes is the Headingley Test, so we need a good red-ball warm-up," Thompson said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

"We have got to be playing somewhere and we would much prefer that to be the West Indies. We all have a huge sympathy for the West Indies; we all want to see a successful West Indian nation," he added.

England's women's Ashes campaign will begin with the only Test of the series at Headingley in June. It will also be the only men's or women's Test scheduled to take place north of Nottingham next summer.

The England women have played only one Test since their 2025 Ashes tour of Australia, where they lost all the matches. They were beaten by India at Lord's earlier this year in their most recent red-ball fixture.

England and West Indies have not played a women's Test against each other since 1979. West Indies' most recent women's Test came against Pakistan during their 2004 tour.

The proposed Caribbean Test is also part of England's preparations for the 2027 Ashes. The England squad are scheduled to attend a 10-day red-ball training camp in India in January.

England and Australia A played Test-style warm-up matches before the 2023 Ashes, and a similar setup could be considered ahead of the 2027 series.

The ECB is also working on plans to provide domestic players with opportunities to play red-ball cricket at the start of next season.