The

England national cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

toured the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

from January to April 1948 and played four Test matches against the

West Indies cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West I ...

. The first two Tests were drawn and West Indies won the last two to take the series 2–0. England were captained by

Gubby Allen Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE (31 July 190229 November 1989) was a cricketer who captained England in eleven Test matches. In first-class matches, he played for Middlesex and Cambridge University. A fast bowler and hard-hittin ...

, though

Ken Cranston Kenneth Cranston (20 October 1917 – 8 January 2007) was an English amateur cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and eight times for England, in 1947 and 1948. He retired from playing cricket to concentrate on his career as ...

was stand-in skipper in the first Test. West Indies began with

George Headley George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest crick ...

as captain but he was badly injured in the first Test and replaced for the rest of the series by

John Goddard John Goddard may refer to: * John Goddard (engraver) (fl. 1645–1671), engraver *John Goddard (cricketer) (1919–1987), West Indian cricketer *Johnathan Goddard (1981–2008), American football player *John Goddard (adventurer) John Goddard (Ju ...

Test series summary

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

Fourth Test

England squad

* Batsmen –

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

, Jack Robertson,

Joe Hardstaff junior Joseph Hardstaff Jr (3 July 1911 – 1 January 1990) was an English cricketer, who played in twenty three Test matches for England from 1935 to 1948. Hardstaff's father, Joe senior played for Nottinghamshire and England and his son, also nam ...

, Dennis Brookes,

Winston Place Winston Place (7 December 1914 − 25 January 2002) was an English cricketer who played in three Tests in 1948. An opening batsman for Lancashire, he shared a prolific partnership with Cyril Washbrook and was part of the county championship wi ...

Gerald Smithson Gerald Arthur Smithson (1 November 1926 – 6 September 1970) was an English cricketer who played in two Tests for England in 1947–48. He was born at Spofforth, West Riding of Yorkshire and died at Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Life and career ...

* Pace/seam bowlers –

(captain), Harold Butler, Maurice Tremlett * Spinners –

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of York ...

Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle (8 January 1923 – 23 July 1985) was an English spin bowling cricketer whose Test Match career lasted between 1948 and 1957. His Test bowling average of 20.39 is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler since ...

* All-rounders –

(vice-captain),

Dick Howorth Richard Howorth (26 April 1909 – 2 April 1980) was an English cricketer who played as an all-rounder for Worcestershire County Cricket Club between 1933 and 1951. Chiefly remembered as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Howorth also occasional ...

Jack Ikin John Thomas Ikin (7 March 1918 – 15 September 1984) was an English cricketer, who played in eighteen Test cricket, Test matches from 1946 to 1955. A "calm, popular left-hander who also bowled leg spin", Ikin played most of his cricket for Lanc ...

* Wicketkeepers –

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match ...

Billy Griffith Stewart Cathie Griffith, (16 June 1914 – 7 April 1993), known as Billy Griffith, was an English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played in three Test matches for England in 1948 and 1949. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge ...

References

Sources

CricketArchive — tour summary
*

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to review ...

, 1st edition, 1948
Wisden Online — 1948
*

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

, 85th edition, 1948 {{DEFAULTSORT:English cricket team in West Indies in 1947-48 1948 in English cricket 1948 in West Indian cricket West Indian cricket seasons from 1945–46 to 1969–70 1947-48 International cricket competitions from 1945–46 to 1960