West Indies confirm England visit

Chris Gayle (centre) and team-mates will play England twice next year

West Indies will tour England early next year to fill the gap left by the cancellation of Zimbabwe's visit.

Sri Lanka had been due to replace Zimbabwe but many of their players were already contracted to play in the Indian Premier League at the same time.

The tourists will play Tests at Lord's from 6-10 May and Chester-le-Street from May 14-18.

There will also be one-day matches at Headingley (21 May), Bristol (24 May) and Edgbaston (26 May).

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"The West Indies are always popular visitors and this completes a wonderful summer of cricket which also includes the Ashes Series and the World Twenty20," said England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier.

The teams will be more than familiar with one another by that stage, as England will play four Tests and five one-dayers in West Indies in the new year, only returning home at the beginning of April.

Now there are definite plans to replace the Zimbabwe tour, the ECB can finalise England's 2009 schedule, and will reveal the full dates soon.

The board will also have to reconsider plans for summer 2010, when West Indies were originally scheduled to tour.