Why this could be Australia’s final Test tour of the West Indies

Kingston: Australian cricket tours of the West Indies are steeped in nostalgia – long viewed as the dream trip for players and spectators alike.

But heading into this week’s third Test in Jamaica, the venue of Australia’s famous series win in 1995, a sobering question hangs in the air: could this be Australia’s last visit to the Caribbean for a Test series?

That might sound alarmist, but it reflects genuine concern amid confidential discussions between global cricket’s powerbrokers about the future of the longest format.

The International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Program – the blueprint that maps out bilateral series – is still being finalised.

But according to well-placed sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks, there are currently no Tests locked in between Australia and the West Indies in the Caribbean from 2027 onwards.

There is every chance that could change, but the next dates for England and India Test series have already been locked in by cricket’s most influential boards behind closed doors.

West Indies’ Brandon King plays a shot against Australia during day two of the second cricket Test match.Credit: AP

Cricket Australia is, in principle, eager to continue touring the West Indies. But the decision may be taken out of its hands if Test cricket is ultimately split into two divisions – a model this masthead revealed earlier this year was under serious consideration.

The thought of no Australia Tests in the West Indies would have been unthinkable 40 years ago, when the Calypso Kings reigned supreme.

Three days out from Saturday’s day-night Test in Kingston, Australia’s bowlers ran in from the Michael Holding end at Sabina Park as they fine-tuned their preparations.

Holding, who claimed 249 Test wickets at 23.68, will not be in Jamaica at the match. He has no desire to be.

“To be honest, I have moved on from cricket,” Holding said. “The authorities are doing whatever they feel like irrespective of what anyone says, so I see no need to continue beating my head against a stone wall. I don’t even watch the games any more, so I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

Holding’s words echo a broader disillusionment across the Caribbean – a region where Test cricket’s relevance has sharply declined amid the rise of T20 leagues and shifting priorities.

Signs of the game’s diminishing footprint are everywhere. Attendances for the Barbados and Grenada Tests were modest, with the vast majority of fans flying in from Australia.

Many made the pilgrimage believing it could be the last opportunity to witness a West Indies Test tour against Australia on home soil.

Australia fans during the first Test between the West Indies and Australia at Kensington Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados.Credit: AP

Among locals, enthusiasm for Test cricket has waned. When this masthead arrived in Kingston, a taxi driver proudly shared his plans to attend “the match on the 20th”.

He was unaware the third Test was scheduled for July 12-16. The game he had in mind was a T20 fixture to follow the Test series.

Holding’s indifference about the state of the game is juxtaposed to the frustration of another legendary West Indies fast bowler in Andy Roberts.

“It would be a shame if the West Indies were barred from playing at the highest level because they were struggling at the moment,” Roberts said.

Greg Chappell sways clear of an Andy Roberts bouncer during a World Series Cricket match in 1979.Credit: Archive

“All teams go through these types of situations, granted that West Indies is not doing too much to get back to the highest level of cricket. They’re more focusing on the money and that will be the end of cricket.

“I think that something needs to be done for the future of cricket to maintain the highest standards. T20 is damaging Test cricket. Look at Australia. Their batting is weak. If Australia met a decent West Indian team now, they would get beat.”

Competitiveness is another factor influencing Australia’s desire to tour. Between 1980 and 1995, the West Indies didn’t lose a Test series – a remarkable streak spanning 29 campaigns. Since April 1999, they’ve only beaten Australia twice.

The home side had chances to claim victories in both Barbados and Grenada, but fragile batting cost them dearly.

Richie Richardson holds Curtly Ambrose back from Steve Waugh at Port of Spain in 1995.Credit: AP

“We’ve shown our desire to continue to play Test cricket, both here and abroad,” Cricket Australia chief executive boss Todd Greenberg told this masthead before the West Indies series. “That’s pretty well evidenced by the fact we’re playing three Tests in the West Indies. It’s a complex calendar, the global calendar of bilateral cricket.

“The next ICC meeting is scheduled for July [in Singapore], so I’d be hoping for some more clarity about [the Futures Tour Program].”

Roberts, however, believes the odds are stacked against his team and that the ICC and West Indies Cricket have not done enough to lift the struggling giant.

“I can bet you, if it were one of the top-tier teams, whether it was England, India or Australia going through the period that the West Indies has gone through, they would be given a helping hand to come in and assist them,” Roberts said.

“We need administrators who played cricket. We have dug a grave for ourselves because we don’t have the people who played the game at the highest level administering the game and around the game.”

If this is indeed Australia’s last Test tour of the West Indies, it will stand as a quiet warning that even the game’s most iconic contests are not immune to cricket’s shifting tides.

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