England Men to begin summer against top-ranked New Zealand

• England Men begin summer with LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand
• Three-match Vitality IT20 Series included into Sri Lanka’s tour of England and Wales

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that England Men will start their home international summer with a LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand.

Joe Root’s team will play two LV= Insurance Test Matches against New Zealand, who are currently top of the ICC Men’s Test Rankings, at Lord’s (2-6 June) and Edgbaston (10-14 June).

England Men will also play a three-match Vitality IT20 Series against Sri Lanka at Sophia Gardens (23 June and 24 June) and The Ageas Bowl (26 June). These matches will precede the already-announced three-match Royal London Series against Sri Lanka.

Planning for the England Visually Impaired team’s Ashes series against Australia remains subject to COVID-19 assessments.

Ticket ballots have now opened for today’s announced fixtures at The Ageas Bowl, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens before general sale tickets are set to be available across all venues from 22 February. Refund policies are in place should crowds be restricted because of Covid-19.

ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison, said: “The prospect of our England Men’s team taking on the world’s two top-ranked Test nations in New Zealand and India this summer is something for us all to savour."

ENDS

Editor's Notes:

2021 England Men’s home schedule

England Men's LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand

Tour match: Somerset v New Zealand, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton - 25-28 May 

1^st LV= Insurance Test, Lord’s – 2-6 June

2^nd LV Insurance Test, Edgbaston – 10-14 June

England Men’s Series against Sri Lanka

Tour matches:

Kent v SL 50-over warm-up The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury - 18 June

Sussex v SL T20 warm-up 1^st Central County Ground, Hove - 20 June

Vitality IT20 Series

1^st Vitality IT20, Sophia Gardens – Wednesday 23 June

2^nd Vitality IT20, Sophia Gardens – Thursday 24 June

3^rd Vitality IT20, The Ageas Bowl – Saturday 26 June

Royal London Series v Sri Lanka

1^st Royal London ODI, Emirates Riverside, Tuesday 29 June

2^nd Royal London ODI, Kia Oval, Thursday 1 July

3^rd Royal London ODI, Bristol County Ground, Sunday 4 July

England Men’s Series against Pakistan

Royal London Series

1^st Royal London ODI, Sophia Gardens, Thursday 8 July

2^nd Royal London ODI, Lord’s Saturday 10 July

3^rd Royal London ODI, Edgbaston, Tuesday 13 July

Vitality IT20 Series

1^st Vitality IT20, Trent Bridge, Friday 16 July

2^nd Vitality IT20, Emerald Headingley, Sunday 18 July

3^rd Vitality IT20, Emirates Old Trafford, Tuesday 20 July

England Men’s LV= Insurance Test Series against India

1^st LV= Insurance Test, Trent Bridge, 4-8 August

2^nd LV= Insurance Test, Lord’s, 12-16 August

3^rd LV= Insurance Test, Emerald Headingley, 25-29 August

4^th LV= Insurance Test, Kia Oval, 2-6 September

5^th LV= Insurance Test, Emirates Old Trafford, 10-14 September

Details for the Major Match Refund Scheme are here: https://www.ecb.co.uk/refundscheme

The details of the Ticket Refund Promise will be clearly communicated to ticket purchasers at the point of sale and, should Covid-19 affect a match(es) a ticket buyer is due to attend, the host venues will inform them of their options.

The volume of tickets available varies by venue, given some supporters have already rolled over tickets purchased for 2020 Test matches.