England unveil Caribbean itinerary

The England & Wales Cricket Board has confirmed the itinerary for England's 2009 tour of the West Indies, comprising of four Tests, one Twenty20 international and a five-match ODI series.

England will arrive in Barbados on Wednesday, January 21, where they will play two three-day warm up matches before moving to Jamaica for the first Test against West Indies at Sabina Park on Wednesday, February 4.

The teams then move onto Antigua, where the second Test will take place at Sir Vivian Richards stadium in North Sound, starting on February 13, and a two-day tour match, the details of which have yet to be confirmed, will be fitted in before the third Test in Barbados, starting on February 26.

The fourth and final Test (March 6-10) will be played at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, with the same venue hosting the Twenty20 match less than a week later.

The tour concludes with the five-match ODI series, starting with two games in Guyana on March 20 and 22, closely followed by two more in Barbados, and the series finale in St Lucia on Friday, April 3.

England's recent tours of the Caribbean have generally started and finished five weeks later, which suggests that a window has been created to allow players from both squads to compete in the Indian Premier League.

Either way, England face a busy 2009 schedule, with the ICC World Twenty20 in May and June, followed by the Ashes in July and August.