England turn to cooling vests as heat warning hits West Indies match

England will use ice packs, Formula 1-style cooling vests and other measures to cope with punishing heat against West Indies as the Met Office put a red weather warning in force for the UK on Wednesday 24 June 2026. London was forecast to hit 35C, with very hot and humid conditions expected across England and Wales.

The response, outlined by stand-in captain Charlie Dean, shows how elite cricket is adapting in real time to extreme summer conditions. Dean, England’s vice-captain, has led the side this summer until Nat Sciver-Brunt’s return, and the ECB says the 25-year-old off-spinner has been in the set-up since 2021 and is a livewire in the field.

The heat alert is more than a comfort issue. The Met Office says red warnings are reserved for the most serious impacts, including danger to life, and that warnings can be issued up to seven days ahead. Its guidance also links severe weather to travel disruption, power cuts and health risks, underlining why England’s match-day plans now include equipment once associated with Formula 1 rather than cricket.

That crossover matters because motorsport has already spent several seasons trying to solve the same problem. Formula 1 developed cooling shirts after concerns raised by the extreme heat at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, with the FIA introducing devices that use tubing carrying cooling fluid. Reporting in 2025 said the system was optional for drivers before becoming mandatory in 2026.

Not everyone in F1 has welcomed the kit. Some drivers have said the vests are uncomfortable, while the FIA has argued they are intended to prevent worse heat-related problems when conditions become severe. England’s adoption of similar equipment is therefore not a gimmick but a practical borrowing from a sport that has already been forced to engineer around the climate.

The wider warning for cricket is clear. The Met Office’s Heat-health Alert Service, run with the UK Health Security Agency, covers England only from June to September, and this week’s red alert has turned that seasonal precaution into a live issue for a national team preparing to play in unusually harsh late-June conditions.