Zimbabwe will play their first Test match in a year and a half when they host West Indies for two Tests at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo in February.
Zimbabwe last pulled over the whites against Bangladesh in a single Test in Harare back in July 2021, losing by 220 runs to the Asian side.
West Indies will start the tour with a four-day warm-up game against a local side, scheduled for January 28 to 31 at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.
The first Test is slated for February 4-8 and the second for February 12-16, both starting at 10am local time.
“The tour to Zimbabwe early in 2023 will be an important part of our 2023 Test programme, which also includes series against South Africa and India,” Jimmy Adams, Cricket West Indies’ director of cricket said in a release.
“Having produced some good results early in 2022, the team will be eager to begin the year with strong performances in Zimbabwe.”
The Zimbabwe leg will be the first of a long tour to southern Africa by the West Indies, who will proceed to South Africa for two more Tests as well as three ODIs and three T20Is.
The Test series against the Proteas will be the final round of matches in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
West Indies have toured Zimbabwe just thrice, winning all three series without losing a Test. All of them have been two-Test series and West Indies have won each one of them 1-0. The last of those was in October 2017.
“Although it’s been a while since we last played Test cricket, our boys will be hungry and ready for some red-ball action and I believe an exciting series against one of the game’s top sides is on the cards,” ZC director of cricket, Hamilton Masakadza said.
Meanwhile before the Caribbean side’s visit, Ireland will be the first team to tour Zimbabwe in the new year – arriving in January for three ODIs and three T20s.
This will be the first time that Zimbabwe will be playing following the Chevrons’ commendable performance at the T20 World Cup in Australia.
After the West Indies cross to the border to South Africa, the Netherlands will arrive in Zimbabwe in March for three ODIs.
In July and August, Zimbabwe will then take on Afghanistan in an all-format series – two Tests, three ODIs and three T20s – likely to be staged in the UAE.
Afghanistan doesn’t host matches due to the security situation in the volatile Asian country.