CWI confirm Windies third tour amid COVID

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has confirmed the men's tour of Bangladesh next month, their third series amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

This follows a report by a CWI inspection team which travelled to the Asian nation last month to conduct a review of the facilities and health protocols.

In the draft itinerary released yesterday, West Indies will face the hosts in two Tests, which will be preceded by three One-Day Internationals. The tour runs from January 18 to February 15, with the Caribbean side arriving on January 10.

Three Tests were originally scheduled, but CWI President Ricky Skerritt hinted last month in an interview that one match could be dropped.

The tour takes place as Bangladesh inches towards the half-million mark in COVID-19 infections, with still over 60,000 active cases.

However, CWI Director Dr Akshai Mansingh, who headed the inspection team last month, said in a briefing following the tour that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had been thorough in their preparations.

"The protocols that were described to us by the BCB were very, very well thought out," Mansingh said at the time.

"From a medical point of view, we are very happy ... . I am very confident [that] what we saw is probably as good an arrangement as you can have anywhere in the world."

- CMC