LONDON (AP) India will play five test matches in England next year for the first time since 1959, with the crammed series between two of cricket's leading countries being held over just 42 days.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Monday that India's tour of England will also include a five-match one-day series and a Twenty20 international, and will stretch from June 23 to Sept. 8.
The seven-day gap from the end of the third test to the start of the fourth will be the longest break between matches.
"This will be the first time England has hosted India in a five-test series in more than 50 years," ECB chief executive David Collier said, "and the length of the series reflects the iconic status which contests between these two great cricketing nations now enjoy."
Nottingham, London (Lord's and The Oval), Southampton and Manchester will host the tests. The Ageas Bowl in Southampton must pass a final facility inspection before being confirmed as the host of the third test.
India lost 4-0 in its last test series in England, in 2011.
The tourists will play two three-day matches against county teams Leicestershire and Derbyshire before the test series begins at Trent Bridge on July 9.
Sri Lanka will tour England earlier in the summer, playing a T20 international and five ODIs before tests at Lord's and Headingley, Leeds.