The England cricket team toured the West Indies between 25 January 2009 and 3 April 2009. Initially, it was intended that they play four Test matches, one Twenty20 International and five One Day Internationals against the West Indies cricket team. However, the abandonment of the Second Test due to the conditions of the field at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua led to the rapid inclusion of an additional game staged at the Antigua Recreation Ground, resulting in a five-match, rather than four-match Test series. The West Indies regained the Wisden Trophy by winning the Test series 1–0. They also won the Twenty20 match, but England won the ODI series 3–2.
Build-up
Despite recent turmoils,[specify] England went into the series as firm favourite.[citation needed] The players claimed confidence, the ICC rankings placed them comfortably ahead of their adversaries, and the pundits were, under the circumstances, fairly buoyant. In The Daily Telegraph, Geoffrey Boycott opined that, with a fit Andrew Flintoff, England ought to prevail easily:
I am not saying it will be a walkover. The one thing England do need is a fit Andrew Flintoff, throughout all the four Tests. If Freddie goes down injured, the odds for the series will turn around dramatically.[1]
Test series
1st Test
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- England's second-innings total of 51 is their third-lowest in Test cricket.[2]
2nd Test
- West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
- Play was abandoned after 10 balls due to an overly sandy and dangerous outfield which left the bowlers to be unable to gain any solid footholds; an extra Test was scheduled.[3] The Test match thus became the shortest in recorded history, overtaking the record previously held by another match in the West Indies in 1998 involving the same teams, which was abandoned under similar circumstances.[4] The statistics of the abandoned Test stood, however, contributing to the statistics of all players involved.[5]
3rd Test
- West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
- An additional Test match was added to the schedule following the abandonment of the 2nd Test; this took advantage of the fact that the abandoned game was in Antigua, which meant that the Antigua Recreation Ground was available. The newly scheduled 3rd Test began two days after the abandonment of the previous game.
4th Test
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
5th Test
T20I series
Only T20I
- West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
- Gareth Batty, Steven Davies and Amjad Khan (Eng) made their T20I debuts.
ODI series
1st ODI
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- Bad light ended West Indies's innings early. West Indies's coach Dyson told his batsmen to take the light after a miscalculation.
2nd ODI
- West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
3rd ODI
- West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
- Rain reduced the match to 44 overs-a-side.
4th ODI
- England won the toss and elected to field.
- Rain reduced the England innings to a maximum of 20 overs.
5th ODI
Tour matches
St Kitts Invitational XI v England XI
- England XI won the toss and elected to bat.
- England XI were originally scheduled to use 11 players, but ended up using 13 after injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Owais Shah. The St Kitts side used 14.
First-class: West Indies A v England XI
- West Indies A won the toss and elected to bat.
Barbados Cricket Association President's XI v England XI
- BCA President's XI won the toss and elected to field.
- The BCA President's XI used 13 players in the match (11 batting, 11 fielding).
West Indies Players' Association XI v England XI
- England XI won the toss and elected to bat.
- The West Indies Players Association XI used 13 players in the match (11 batting, 11 fielding).
References
- ^ Boycott 2009.
- ^ Lillywhite, Jamie (7 February 2009). "West Indies v England 1st Test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ "West Indies v England 2nd Test". BBC Sport. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ "Shortest Tests (by balls bowled)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- ^ Miller, Andrew (13 February 2009). "Play abandoned after sandpit farce". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
