Postponed Test between England and India to be played from July 1 next year

The postponed Test between England and India will now be played at the Edgbaston cricket ground from July 1, revealed the England Cricket Board (ECB). The match was postponed earlier this year after COVID-19 wreaked havoc in the Indian camp. The Test will count towards the outcome of the series which India leads 2-1.

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"We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement with BCCI to creating a fitting end to what has been a brilliant series so far," Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, said. "I'm very grateful to all the venues involved for the cooperation they've shown in allowing us to reschedule this match. I'd also like to thank Cricket South Africa for their support and understanding to allow these changes to be possible.

Earlier, the Test was scheduled to be played at Old Trafford in Manchester but the venue has been swapped with Edgbaston due to the complexities in the schedule and lack of time to prepare the pitch due to pre-planned events.

"Due to the complexities in the schedule, the fixture cannot be staged at Emirates Old Trafford owing to clashes with pre-planned events at the venue, which will leave insufficient time to prepare a Test pitch," the ECB explained in a media release.

India are also scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs in England in July. The T20I series was set to start on July 1 but will now commence on July 7, while the ODI series will start on July 12. Notably, England are also set to host South Africa for a full series in July. ECB said they will do all possible efforts to manage the workload of the players.

"We recognise that accommodating this extra match means a tighter schedule for the white ball series. We will continue to manage our players' welfare and workloads through next year while we also continue to seek the optimum schedule for fans, players and our partners across the game.''