International cricket is set to return from July 8 when England square off against West Indies in the first of three Tests at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.
England, though, will be without their regular Test captain, Joe Root, who will miss the game to be at the birth of his second child.
Ben Stokes will captain England in the first game, which could result in the hosts playing in a "free and relaxed" manner mirroring their skipper, according to West Indies paceman Kemar Roach, reports Cricbuzz.
Roach, who said he was "a huge fan of Ben Stokes", also looked forward to the contest of the two all-round captains. West Indies skipper Jason Holder is currently ranked No. 1 among all-rounders in Test cricket while England's stand-in captain is placed second on the list.
"He's (Stokes) a fantastic cricketer. He's very energetic, brings a lot of energy to the field and a lot of confidence when he bats or when he bowls, so I'm expecting a very free and relaxed England team to come out there and express themselves because that's the way he plays," said Roach during an online video conference on Sunday (July 5).
"It's interesting to see him captain, obviously it's the first time we're going to see it, but I'm sure that with him at the head, they're in good hands as well, so I wish him all the best."
Speaking about the all-rounders' battle, Roach said: "It's always good to have challenges, it's always good to have battles, it brings out the best in you.
I hope he (Holder) and Ben Stokes go at it in a couple of Test matches here. They're both fantastic cricketers and I'm sure that once they're battling it will be great cricket to watch."
While speaking about the non-availability of Root for the opening Test, Roach viewed it as a 50-50 situation in terms of advantage for West Indies.
He acknowledged that there are "some big shoes to fill" for the England team in Root's absence but was also wary of the unknowns in the home team set-up that could pose problems for West Indies.
"A Test match without Root, the fantastic stats he has, is going to be a bit of an advantage for us. He's one that keeps the England batting together, he's done fantastically for them for the last couple of years.
Without him it is a bit of an advantage for us, but also a little bit of a disadvantage because there's some new guys coming in that we obviously have to work out and see what their weaknesses are and try to exploit them.
So it goes 50-50, but once we get stuck in and hit our straps and put the balls in the right area I think we stand a very good chance of going out there and performing well," said Roach.
