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Cricket West Indies have announced a packed home summer in 2021, with South Africa, Pakistan and Australia all set to tour the Caribbean later this year.
From June to August, West Indies will host all of South Africa, Pakistan and Australia in consecutive series at home.
The home summer will start with a Test and T20I series against South Africa in June – the series was originally scheduled to be played in 2020. The Tests will be played in St Lucia, starting from 10 June, before the series moves to Grenada for a five-match T20I series, which ends on 3 July.
It will be the first bilateral meeting between the sides in the Caribbean since 2010.
West Indies will then host Australia in a white-ball series running from 9 to 24 July. The series will feature five T20Is and three Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs – following West Indies’ 3-0 victory against Sri Lanka, they have their eyes set on an automatic qualification spot for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Pakistan then visit for a five-match T20I series, in Barbados and Guyana, followed by two Tests in Jamaica. The tour will stretch from 26 June to 24 August, ending four days before the start of the Caribbean Premier League.
The busy schedule consists of a total of 15 T20Is, making for ample preparation ahead of their defence of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in India, as well as four Tests and three ODIs.
“Following the successful hosting of the all-format series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that we are set to welcome South Africa, Australia and Pakistan to the West Indies,” the CWI CEO Johnny Grave said.
“To host three international teams back-to-back in five territories is unprecedented, and putting these fixtures together was an enormous COVID-related logistical challenge.
“We must thank the visiting teams for agreeing to travel at this challenging period for world cricket, and we are especially grateful to our regional governments who are playing such a vital role in partnering with CWI to ensure that International cricket can be hosted safely, while providing entertainment for our loyal fans and income for our cricketers and cricket communities.”