West Indies

Former West Indies skipper Jason Holder has thanked the England cricket team for help in the survival of cricket in the Caribbean. This comes as England get ready for an eight-game white-ball tour in the West Indies comprising three ODIs and five T20Is. 

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It is to be noted that England have travelled each year to the West Indies since 2022 after West Indies helped the European cricket powerhouse during the peak of COVID-19 in 2020 by playing a Test series behind closed doors. Holder had led West Indies in the series and called for reciprocation in future.

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"I think it's a fair way of putting it," Holder said to cricket news website ESPNcricinfo when asked if England have returned the favour. 

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"We've obviously had the English coming over for the last three years consecutively. And that has definitely boosted, not only our economy within the Caribbean, but it adds a massive boost to our survival in international cricket.

"We rely heavily on series between England and India, our revenues tend to come from those two teams. It's our biggest series within any calendar year, and, yeah, it's one that really brings the fans down to the Caribbean and creates a really fun atmosphere.

"So, it's great to have them and to see the fans packing the stadiums as well. There's always a good banter between the West Indian public and English public. So we're thankful that we've been able to have them so many times in as many years. And long may it continue," added the former West Indies skipper.

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West Indies have been pretty dominant at home against England, winning five-T20I series 3-2 both in 2022 and 2023 as well as an ODI series in December last year too.

The upcoming tour kicks off on October 31 with the ODI series before the T20Is take place from November 10.