Australia’s hopes of featuring in another World Test Championship final might be hanging in the balance but Pat Cummins’ men are set to play an extra Test in the West Indies next year.
Cricket Australia has shown its willingness to help Test cricket prosper in the West Indies after privately agreeing to add another fixture to next year’s series.
There was a time when the West Indies were Australia’s fiercest rival, with the calypso kings dominating Test cricket through the 1980s. However, in recent years, Test cricket in the West Indies has lost its lustre, with many of the best players on the islands opting to sign lucrative deals in T20 leagues.
Australia have four more matches against India and then a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka first but will then embark on their first Test assignment in the Caribbean for a decade.
Next year’s series against the West Indies was only supposed to be two Tests with some white ball matches but this masthead can reveal that a third Test will be added to the Frank Worrell Trophy.
The last time Australia toured the West Indies in 2015, Michael Clarke’s side played just the two Tests, with the visitors winning both fixtures in Roseau (Dominica) and Kingston (Jamaica). Since then, Australia has toured every Test playing nation except the West Indies.
There was no sign of his toe injury as Shamar Joseph celebrated bowling the West Indies to a famous Test win over Australia at the Gabba.Credit: Getty Images
Earlier this year Australia and West Indies squared off in a two-Test series, with the visitors claiming a famous win in Brisbane – their first in Australia since 1997 – thanks to Shamar Joseph’s heroics with the ball.
The decision to not schedule what would have been a third and deciding Test did not sit well with many, including former West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose.
“Two-Test match series, to me, is a joke to be quite frank. Minimum three,” Ambrose told reporters earlier this year. “Australia won the first Test, West Indies came back and won the second, and a third Test that would have been massive. That would set up the series perfectly. But it didn’t happen.”
Australian coach Andrew McDonald and CA boss Nick Hockley have expressed their desire for future Test series to be played as a three-match minimum.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has not announced fixtures for the tour but according to two sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to discuss the tour, said the first Test of the series is set to begin on June 25 in Barbados. Grenada and Jamaica have been discussed as likely venues for a tour that is expected to last about a month.
Australia supporters celebrate Steve Smith’s century on day one of the second Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park, Jamaica, in 2015. Credit: AP
There is also the possibility one of the matches could be a pink ball fixture, which would be more appealing for Australian broadcasters given the timezone.
Australia has not played a three-Test series in the West Indies since 2012. The last time a four-match Test series was held between Australia and the Windies in the Caribbean was in 2003 when Steve Waugh was skipper.
The West Indies’ performances last summer will give them renewed hope of beating Australia at home in a Test series for the first time since 1991.
Joseph’s heroics in Australia last summer helped revitalise the West Indies after the fast bowler took a five-wicket haul on debut at the Adelaide Oval.
He backed it up with a famous second innings haul of 7-68 in Brisbane to spearhead the tourists to an eight-run win.
Australia’s matches against the West Indies will be the first of a new World Test Championship cycle. South Africa’s recent success has put Australia in danger of missing next year’s WTC final, which will be held at Lord’s from June 11 to 15.
Australia, sitting third on the WTC ladder, will need to beat India this summer and have success in Sri Lanka to qualify.
