England A to tour West Indies next year

England A will play two unofficial Tests and five one-dayers against their West Indian counterparts on a one-month tour in February-March next year.

Announcing the itinerary, Zorol Barthley, the chief operations officer of the West Indian board, mentioned that West Indies A have two more series planned in 2006: a tour by Sri Lanka A in May, and a visit to England in July-August. "These tours will be of tremendous benefit to our young players," Bartley said. "They will give promising West Indies players more international exposure and encourage them to push for places in the senior team."

The West Indian squad for the series in February will be named after the Carib Beer domestic four-day tournament, which starts next month. The England A squad will be chosen after the national team's tour of Pakistan.

England A in West Indies tour itinerary

Feb 15	Arrive
Feb 19-21	Three-day match	Antigua
Feb 24-27	1st Test	Antigua
Mar 3-6	2nd Test	St Lucia
Mar 9	1st ODI	St Lucia
Mar 11	2nd ODI	St Lucia
Mar 14	3rd ODI	Barbados
Mar 17	4th ODI	Barbados
Mar 19	5th ODI	Barbados