England's women will no longer play a Test against West Indies in the spring, after the scheduled fixtures were cut back to a limited white-ball programme. The planned April and May series, which had been pencilled in on the ICC's Future Tours Programme, will now consist of three T20 internationals and three one-day internationals. The change means the longest format drops out of the calendar for that tour.

The decision signals where England's priorities lie as they look ahead to the Ashes. Pulling a Test from a bilateral schedule is a clear choice to give the squad more time to prepare for a demanding contest against Australia, and it suggests the board is willing to trade a red-ball fixture for focused training and planning. Fans who hoped to see the women's Test game on show in England this season will be disappointed, but the move reflects the reality that major series now demand careful management of players and resources.

Readers wanting the complete details of the revised schedule and the reasoning behind it can find the full story on ESPNcricinfo.