ENGLAND'S 2025 cricket season promises to be a significant one, with the men's team embarking on a five-Test series against India as part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, starting at Headingley on June 20.
The next WTC cycle will run from 2025 to 2027 and it starts right after the final of the current cycle which will also be held in England.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has strategically kept matches at venues where England's swing bowlers will enjoy distinct advantage. The second Test will be held at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 2-6.
The third Test will be held at the hallowed Lord's ground from July 10-14, while Old Trafford in Manchester will host the fourth Test between July 23-27.
The tour concludes with the final Test at the Oval from July 31-August 4.
There is a week's gap between first and second Test and eight-day interval between the third and fourth Tests giving players enough time to recuperate.
After a gap of more than two decades, England will play a men's Test match against Zimbabwe next year, the ECB announced Thursday (22).
The one-off match, England's first against Zimbabwe since 2003, will take place at Trent Bridge in Nottingham starting on May 22.
"To be welcoming Zimbabwe back for a men's Test Match will be a historic moment, more than 20 years since their last visit," said ECB chief executive Richard Gould after the international fixtures for England's 2025 home season were published.
"Test cricket is so beloved in this country, and we know that we have an important role to play in supporting developing Test cricketing nations so that this format of the game thrives long into the future."
The Zimbabwe match will be followed by five Tests against India starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.
The fifth Test against India, scheduled to end on August 4, is the last Test England will play before they bid to regain the Ashes in a 2025/26 series in Australia.
The season also includes exciting developments for women's cricket, with Lord's set to host its first women's Test in 2026 when England face India.
That match will take place 50 years since the late Rachael Heyhoe Flint first led out an England women's team at the London ground, the headquarters of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
"I played 15 Tests for England during my career but none of those were at Lord's," said England women's great Claire Taylor, the chair of MCC's cricket committee.
"So I'm delighted at this news and most importantly for the players who'll make history playing in this fixture in 2026.
"Young girls playing up and down the country can now aspire to play Test match cricket at the Home of Cricket. It is a clear demonstration that cricket is a game for all."
But the 2025 season will see the England women's side go without a home Test for the second successive year.
Both West Indies' men's and women's sides will visit for white-ball series between May and June, with three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals for each series.
England men's white-ball sides will host South Africa in September, before travelling to Ireland at the end of the month.
(With inputs from AFP and PTI)
