SYDNEY: Australia’s first Test tour of the West Indies after a decade will feature three matches after the cricket boards of both countries agreed to play an extra match.
Next year’s series against the Caribbeans was only supposed to be two Tests with some whiteball matches. but this masthead can reveal that a third Test will be added to the Frank Worrell Trophy.
But now, Cricket Australia (CA) and the West Indies Cricket Board have agreed to extend the series and add an extra Test to the Frank Worrell Trophy.
The tour, scheduled for June-July 2025, will include at least two Tests as mandated by the World Test Championship.
Both boards were eager not to have the anticlimactic end to their last series so the two cricketing nations agreed to extend the series from planned two matches to three.
The last time Australia toured the West Indies was in 2015 when both teams had played two Test matches.
Both were won by the visiting side led by Michael Clarke. Australia hasn’t toured the West Indies since then, having visited every other Test-playing nation.
On the other hand, West Indies have toured Australia for three consecutive series since then, with Australia winning 2-0 in both the 2015-16 and 2022-23 series.
CA Chief Executive Nick Hockley, who is set to step down from his role after this summer, expressed his excitement about the extended series.
“We’re still waiting for an official announcement from the West Indies Cricket Board around precise dates and precise locations but it will be a three-Test series which is obviously big.
“It’s another great opportunity. The World Test Championship prescribed that we needed to play two, at least two.
“But really, for the fans and for the players, you don’t want to be stuck in the position when it’s one-one and everyone is feeling unsatisfied.”
