After a disastrous Ashes that caused plenty of navel-gazing at the ECB, England head to the Caribbean to try and repair their tattered Test reputation in a three-match series against West Indies.
The first of those Tests comes at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua where Joe Root - now batting at No 3 - will skipper a side lacking confidence but desperate for a shot in the arm.
England can’t be accused of not reacting to the Ashes embarrassment that saw them thumped 4-0 with barely a whimper, as head coach Chris Silverwood and men’s director of cricket Ashley Giles have both gone, while senior bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been dropped amid a number of player casualties that also sees Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns and Dawid Malan added to the pile of discarded top-order options.
Paul Collingwood has taken on the temporary role of coach as they search for a more permanent replacement, Sir Andrew Strauss is the new managing director and while Root was considered lucky to hold on to the captaincy by some, the sheer dearth of other viable options to take the armband - and the fact the Yorkshireman is England’s sole undeniably world-class Test player - meant those in charge were left with little choice.
Perhaps not quite a new era but against a West Indies side in red-ball disarray themselves after being trounced by Sri Lanka on the sub-continent last time out, it’s a golden opportunity for England to at least regain some lost momentum.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the first Test.
When is the game?
The five-day Test match will run from Tuesday, 8 March to Saturday, 12 March at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua. Play is scheduled to start at 2pm GMT each day and finish at around 9pm or 10pm GMT.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be live on BT Sport 1 for the first four days, with the fifth day’s play - should it be needed - live on BT Sport 2. BT Sport subscribers can also stream the match live via the BT Sport website and app, while England Cricket and BBC Sport will show short highlights of the day’s play.
Odds
West Indies - 7/4
Draw - 7/2
England - Evens
Prediction
Two teams who have had their red-ball struggles in recent times, neither of whom you can really trust to consistently perform. England will be desperate for a response after the diabolical Ashes performance and although they have historically floundered in the Caribbean, this new-look team and coaching staff can break that trend. England to record a narrow victory, late on day four or early on day five.
