ECB set to fund £400,000 chartered plane to fly West Indies to England for Test series

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The ECB are set to foot a £400,000 bill to charter a plane for West Indies to fly to England for the upcoming summer series.

The three-match Test series between the sides was due to begin on June 8, but has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, with professional cricket in England suspended until July.

Talks have been ongoing this week between both Cricket West Indies and the ECB about a touring party of 25-30 players coming over from the Caribbean to start playing from July 1.

Such a large squad would be needed in order to allow the team to train and play warm-up matches in the absence of the usual tour games against county sides, but the situation is complicated by the fact that players are based in various Caribbean nations, many with their own travel restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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And CWI chief executive Johnny Grave revealed that a chartered flight would be the likeliest route to take to get over the logistical issues surrounding the travelling touring party.

The ECB is expected to meet that cost which, while sizeable, is preferable to losing millions in broadcast revenue from the Tests not going ahead and hence not being televised on Sky Sports.

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