England to host India for 3 Tests, 7 ODI series next yr

London, Sep 3 (UNI) India will tour England in July next year to play three Tests and seven one-day internationals, ECB has confirmed.

In a statement released overnight, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the series against India would be preceded by three Tests and as many ODI series against West Indies at home.

''ECB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have had a long-standing agreement that India's tour to the UK would directly reciprocate the three Test Matches and seven One-Day Internationals played by the England team in India earlier this year,'' board's Director of Cricket Operations John Carr said.

He, however, clarified that unlike West Indies, India would not be playing Twenty20 matches during their visit.

''ECB would normally plan to stage one NatWest International Twenty20 match against each of the touring teams but the Indian Team were not playing international Twenty20 cricket when the schedules were agreed,'' he said.

''We have scheduled two matches against the West Indies and we are expecting successive evenings of exhilarating stroke-play at the Brit Oval on June 28 and 29,'' he added.

Npower Test series v India: July 19-23: First Test at Lord's July 27-31: Second Test at Trent Bridge August 9-13: Third Test at The Oval NatWest Series v India: August 21: First ODI, Rose Bowl (d/n) August 24: Second ODI, Bristol (d/n) August 27: Third ODI, Edgbaston August 30: Fourth ODI, Old Trafford (d/n) September 2: Fifth ODI, Headingley September 5: Sixth ODI, The Oval September 8: Seventh ODI, Lord's UNI XC DH PR DB1047