The eagerly anticipated match in the South of England will be the first international cricket match to be played since the sport was suspended worldwide in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Test will be played behind closed doors and this means that there will be no Barmy Army in attendance.

Stand-in English captain, Ben Stokes, says that will he is only the stand-in skipper for the historic test, the regular captain, Joe Root, left him a special message.

“I haven't had much advice but there's been a lot of opinions flying around.

“But the best message I've received was when I got my photos done yesterday in my blazer. Rooty left a message on my hanger, saying 'do it your way'.”

The West Indies captain, Jason Holder, and Stokes are ranked as the two best all-rounders in world cricket.

While there has been a lot of talk about Stokes of late, Holder said his counterpart deserves all the recognition, but he too is a force to be reckoned with.

“Ben's always being talked up and quite rightly so, he's a really good cricketer, but the rankings say I'm the No.1-ranked all-rounder, so I maybe don't get as much credit as I probably deserve.

“Who knows?”

Play at the Ageas Oval is scheduled to start at 12:00 on Wednesday afternoon.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport