Ashes to kick off England’s challenging World Test Championship campaign

England will begin their World Test Championship participation with the 2019 Ashes series against Australia as outlined in the ICC’s 2018-2023 Future Tours Programme.

The WTC for England will be comprised of six Test series including a tough assignment in India in early 2021 the year the inaugural tournament culminates at Lord’s.

A one-off Test against Ireland will be England’s first long format assignment after the 2019 World Cup but that match will not form part of the WTC.

A two-Test series in New Zealand in November 2019 will also not form part of the WTC but the four Test series in South Africa that straddles the new year could be critical in determining who makes it to the final in 2021.

For England the focus will then shift to another dreaded visit to the subcontinent where they will be eager to do well against Sri Lanka in March 2020.

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The 2020 English home summer will see three Tests against the West Indies and Pakistan respectively which will fall under the WTC and limited overs visits from Australia, Ireland and India.

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The latter quarter of 2020 will be devoted to Twenty20 Internationals as nations prepare for the World T20 in October and November.

2021 gets underway with that examination in India by which time England should know if they are in with a shout of being involved in the WTC final later that year.

Full details on the 2018-2023 FTP are available here.