Normally we have a reset at this point. A catastrophic failure here, a World Cup group-stage exit there. But this time, as England prepare for their third white-ball series in the Caribbean in as many years with the first one-day international game on Thursday, well, what is there?
Brendon McCullum is taking over the limited-overs setup in January, meaning Marcus Trescothick is in charge. And Jos Buttler is absent with an injured calf, meaning Liam Livingstone is captain. Of the XI that took the field against Australia a month ago, just five are in the squad for this series.
It is easy to be cynical over yet another seemingly meaningless set of international fixtures but this series – three ODIs and five Twenty20s in Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia – was added to the future tours programme to further repay the England and Wales Cricket Board’s debt to Cricket West Indies after visits by their men’s and women’s teams during the Covid pandemic.
“We’ve obviously had the English coming over for the last three years consecutively,” the West Indies player Jason Holder told ESPNcricinfo. “That has boosted, not only our economy within the Caribbean, but it adds a massive boost to our survival in international cricket.”
In an indication of a certain amount of Caribbean fatigue on the part of England fans, one tour group has noted their numbers for this trip are down. Antigua is out of sailing and tourism season, meaning parts of the island, such as English Harbour, which will be heaving with young workers and tourists in a month’s time, are a ghost town.
Salt (wk), Jacks, Cox, Bethell, Livingstone (c), Mousley, S Curran, J Overton/Mahmood/Turner, Archer, Rashid, Topley.
England are not necessarily favourites for the trip, and have lost 11 of their past 17 ODIs. But there is still something for which to play. Jordan Cox is guaranteed an ODI debut, while Livingstone also namechecked the uncapped fast bowler John Turner and the leg‑spinner Jafer Chohan as players expected to be involved at some stage.
“That’s what we want to get out of this trip,” Livingstone said from the team hotel. “To see how they fare in international cricket. The thing with these young boys, if somebody comes in and shows something we haven’t already got, they can leapfrog people very quickly. I feel like there’s a lot of untapped talent within the group and we are going to see that in the next few weeks.”
It is also an opportunity for Livingstone himself. Describing the chance to captain as a “pinch me” moment, his rise from being initially left out of the ODI squad against Australia six weeks ago to now being in charge has been dramatic. He will have added responsibility as leader but also with the bat, confirming he will come in at No 5 for only the second time in his 30-match ODI career.
“I’ll wicketkeep if I can,” Livingstone joked of the extra roles he will be giving himself now he is captain. “I always feel like I’ve done well in environments where I feel wanted and loved. And in this environment I don’t really have a choice because it’s me who’s got to want me and love me.”
• This article was amended on 31 October 2024. The tour takes in matches in Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia, not in Antigua, Barbados and Guyana as an earlier version said due to an error during editing.
