Australia’s iconic West Indies Test tours may be on borrowed time as crucial call looms

Australia’s tour of the West Indies is under serious threat as officials consider ditching games in the Caribbean.

As Australia’s Test series against the West Indies comes to an end there is the real possibility it could be the last one Australia plays in the Caribbean.

While on the surface that may sound far-fetched as the trip to the Caribbean is one that both fans and cricketers look on fondly and is full of nostalgia.

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But with changes likely to come to the five-day format, Australia vs. West Indies Test matches could now be a thing of the past.

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Program is reportedly strongly considering moving to the two-tier system which would see Australia and the Windies no longer face in Test cricket.

This may be Australia's last Test tour of the West Indies. Image: Getty

And a report in the SMH backs that up, with the news outlet reporting there are no Tests locked in between Australia and the West Indies in the Caribbean from 2027 onwards.

Cricket Australia and the Aussie team would undoubtedly be keen for another Test series but with numbers again down it would be no surprise to see it scrapped.

However, most likely that decision is not CA’s to make, instead if the ICC opts to split Test cricket into two divisions, the West Indies would almost certainly be in the second tier.

Another reason for that Test cricket in the Caribbean could be doomed, is the focus shifting from Test to T20 cricket.

Teammates surround Australia's Scott Boland after he took a hat trick on day three of the third Test match against the West Indies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

In recent years the Windies have played some of the fewest Test matches of all eligible nations.

Of the scheduled Test matches in this cricket calendar from 2023 to 2027, the Windies have and are scheduled to play just 28 Tests.

That is 17 fewer than England, 16 fewer than Australia and 14 fewer than India.

But if the two-tier system becomes a reality, it will almost entirely kill off one of the sport’s greatest ever Test nations.

It even led West Indies great Clive Lloyd to say he was “very disturbed” by the idea earlier this year when it was first floated by the ICC>

“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who worked so hard to get the Test status,” Lloyd said.

“Now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section. How are they going to make it to the top when you play against better teams?”

But next Australia will face the West Indies in a five-match T20 series starting July 20 in Jamaica.

Originally published as Australia’s iconic West Indies Test tours may be on borrowed time as crucial call looms