West Indies confirm series against South Africa, Australia & Pakistan in 2021

St John's, Antigua: West Indies will host South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in back-to-back series from June to August 2021, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Friday (May 14).The Test and T20I series against South Africa, which was rescheduled from 2020, will kickstart West Indies' international summer.

South Africa will arrive in St Lucia on June 1 where they will play two Tests, followed by five T20Is in Grenada from June 26 to July 3. This will be the first time since 2010 that South Africa will play bilateral cricket in West Indies.

Australia's white-ball tour will begin in St. Lucia with five T20Is between July 9 and 24, followed by three ODIs in Barbados.The ODIs will provide the opportunity for West Indies to add on to their points towards the ICC ODI Super League, currently on 30, for West Indies to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is scheduled to arrive in Barbados on July 21 for their five-match T20I series. Two of their five games will be played at the Kensington Oval before they move to Guyana for the remaining three from June 26 to 29.

The two sides will then move to Jamaica for two Tests at Sabina Park from August 12 to August 24, ending four days shy of the start of the Caribbean Premier League."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," Johnny Grave, CWI CEO, said in a statement.

"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,'' he added.

The summer schedule features a total of 15 T20Is for the defending champions, in preparation for their title defense at the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in October-November 2021.(UNI)