Australia's long-awaited return to the West Indies for a Test series will feature three matches, marking their first Test tour to the Caribbean in a decade.
Cricket Australia (CA) and the West Indies Cricket Board have agreed to extend the series, moving away from the previous format of two-Test encounters that often left fans and players wanting more.
The tour, scheduled for June-July 2025, will include at least two Tests as mandated by the World Test Championship.
However, with both boards eager to avoid the anticlimax of their last series, the two cricketing nations have decided to extend the series to three matches.
CA Chief Executive Nick Hockley, who is set to step down from his role after this summer, expressed his excitement about the extended series.
Speaking to SEN radio on Saturday, Hockley said, "I am really glad that is going to manifest."
"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."
This decision follows a drawn two-match series between the two teams in January 2024.
The series, which ended 1-1, was highlighted by Shamar Joseph's heroic performance, leading the West Indies to a historic eight-run victory at the Gabba.
That win ended a two-decade Test victory drought over Australia. However, the limited number of matches left fans and players with a sense of dissatisfaction.
Australia's last Test series in the West Indies occurred in 2015, where they comfortably won both matches—by nine wickets in Roseau and by 277 runs in Kingston.
Since then, the West Indies have toured Australia for three consecutive series, with Australia winning 2-0 in both the 2015-16 and 2022-23 series.
The prospect of a three-match series has been warmly welcomed by West Indies cricket legends.
Sir Curtly Ambrose, a vocal critic of two-match series, has long campaigned for the return of longer contests.
"Two-Test match series, to me, is a joke to be quite frank - minimum three," Ambrose said in June this year.
"I don't think two Tests is really appropriate for international cricket.
"Had we had a third Test in Australia (last January) that … would have been sold out.
"Everyone would have loved to see if West Indies could do that again and if Australia could bounce back."
