Windies in tri-series

Windies in tri-series
Associated Press / Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

The West Indies team will participate in a tri-series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Zimbabwe in August and September this year. This was confirmed by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in a media release last week following a board of directors quarterly meeting at the Accra Beach Hotel in Barbados.

Bangladesh overtook the West Indies for seventh spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) one-day team rankings following a 2-1 One-Day International series win over India.

Only the top eight sides in the rankings will contest the Champions Trophy and Pakistan is ninth with only one point separating the two teams.

It means there could be a straight contest between the two visiting sides for the right and last Champions Trophy spot, although the Pakistan Cricket Board and Zimbabwe are yet to confirm the scheduling the series.

Bangladesh is ranked seventh and their recent win against India has given them a comfortably five-point lead over West Indies, with a three-match home series against South Africa to follow in July. Pakistan has five ODIs against Sri Lanka, but the Zimbabwe tri-series will be the only time West Indies play One-Day cricket before the Champions Trophy cut-off date.

The Caribbean side has not played any ODIs since the World Cup.