Attention quickly turns to the white ball following Australia’s first ever Test series sweep of West Indies in the Caribbean in a contest of three or more matches, with five T20 internationals across Jamaica and St Kitts.

It begins a big block of matches for Australia’s T20 side, who last played against Pakistan last November, as the squad builds towards next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, beginning in February.

A three-match T20 series against South Africa in the Top End follows the Caribbean tour, before three games in New Zealand in October and five at home against India ahead of the Ashes Test summer and KFC BBL|15 season. 

Series schedule

First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 10am AEST)

Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 10am AEST)

Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)

Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)

Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)

How to watch?

Like the Test series that preceded it, Australia’s five-match tour of the Caribbean will be broadcast live on ESPN in Australia and New Zealand.

If you’re a fan of American sports as well, then this is the perfect time zone for you! While the Tests began at a tough time for Australian audiences in the early hours of the morning, the T20 start times are much friendlier, with the first ball of the first two matches in Jamaica set for 10am on Australia’s east coast, with the final three games in St Kitts beginning at 9am AEST.

Given ESPN is part of the Disney stable, that means every ball from the tour will be distributed across a wide range of networks and platforms in Australia and New Zealand, including Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV, Sky NZ and Sky Sports Now.

How else can I follow?

Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app is the place to go for all the news, highlights and reactions following each of the T20 matches. The Unplayable Podcast will also be tracking the series, with interviews and updates from on the ground in the Caribbean.

The podcast caught up with Aussie T20 newcomer Mitch Owen and Hobart Hurricanes teammate Tim David ahead of the series. Listen and subscribe below: 

The squads

West Indies: Shai Hope (c), Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde (St Kitts only), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell (Kingston only), Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

Two-time T20 World Cup winner Andre Russell will retire from international cricket following the first two T20s in his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, with allrounder Matthew Forde to replace ‘Dre Russ’ in the squad when the series moves to St Kitts for the final three games.

Shai Hope, who played returned to Test cricket after a three-year absence in the recent series against Australia, will captain a squad that features two fresh faces, batter Jewel Andrew and fast bowler Jediah Blades. Experienced left-hander Shimron Hetmyer is coming off a top tournament for Seattle Orcas (340 runs at 68.00) in Major League Cricket in the United States, while left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein took 10 wickets for Texas Super Kings.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa

Cameron Green and Josh Inglis are the only two Australians that played during the Test series to stick around for the T20s, with Matt Kuhnemann and Sean Abbott also part of both squads. Kuhnemann is in line to make his T20 international debut, as is Hurricanes BBL final hero Mitch Owen, who is in the Aussie squad for the first time.

Owen arrives in the Caribbean in top form after winning the most valuable player award in the recently complete Major League Cricket season in the United States. Xavier Bartlett also played in that tournament and was the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps, while Matt Short was the fourth highest run-scorer with 360 at 45. Glenn Maxwell was another to play in the MLC, leading Washington Freedom to a runners-up finish with 252 and 10 wickets.

Aussie skipper Mitch Marsh was also in top form for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 with 627 runs striking at 163 to finish fifth on the runs tally for the tournament, while Tim David has recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the playoffs in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden IPL championship. With Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood missing the T20s following the Test campaign, this series is a great opportunity for the likes of Nathan Ellis, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett and Aaron Hardie to push their case for next year’s World Cup.

Local knowledgeRapid stats

Australia have won each of their last two multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series against West Indies (2-1 in February 2024 and 2-0 in October 2022) after only winning one of their first three series against them in the format prior to that span.
West Indies defeated Ireland 1-0 in their most recent multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series (June 2025), snapping a four-series losing run in the format. They will be aiming for consecutive series victories for the first time since August 2024.
Australia have lost only one of their last seven multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series (won 5, drawn 1) – a 1-4 loss against India in December 2023. They are undefeated in their five series since then (won 4, drawn 1) and a sixth unbeaten series here would be their outright longest run in the history of the format.
West Indies have won each of their last four men’s T20Is at Sabina Park in Kingston.
Australia have logged a batting strong connection rate of 22.1 per cent in men’s T20Is since the start of 2024, according to Opta, the highest of any full-member side. They have hit a boundary once every 4.5 balls faced, the most frequent of any team in that time.

West Indies (2.60) and Australia (2.59) have recorded more runs per scoring shot than any other Test playing countries in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2024. Australia (66 per cent) and West Indies (63 per cent) have also logged the highest and third highest percentages of their total runs scored from boundaries (India – 65 per cent).
Rovman Powell (1875) is 25 away from surpassing Chris Gayle (1899) as the second all-time leading run scorer for West Indies in men’s T20Is behind Nicholas Pooran on 2275). But he’s scored 25 runs or more only once across all his five T20I innings against Australia (63 on February 11, 2024).
Glenn Maxwell (Australia) has hit a boundary once every two balls faced during the death overs (17th-20th) in men’s T20Is since the start of 2024, the most frequent of any player from a full-member side (minimum 18 balls faced in this phase of the innings).
Evin Lewis (15) is one away from equaling Chris Gayle (16) for the most scores of 50-plus for West Indies in men’s T20Is. Lewis scored 91 runs in his most recent T20I innings against Ireland in June and will be aiming for consecutive 50-plus scores for only the second time in the format (125no, 51, 58 from July 2017 to May 2018).
Sean Abbott (Australia) has taken 12 wickets at a strike rate of 10.7 in men’s T20Is since the start of 2024, with only England’s Chris Jordan (10.4) recording a better rate amongst pace bowlers from full-member sides in that span (minimum 20 overs bowled).

Players to watch 

Brandon King: The right-hander was West Indies’ only shining light with the bat during a horror Test series, hitting their only half-century with his 75 in the second Test in Grenada. King earnt his Test cap on the back of his white-ball prowess but has been struggling for scores of late, unable to get out of single figures in his past five T20 international innings. He hit 59 against England in an ODI last month and will be hoping to carry the momentum of his positive start in Test cricket into the T20 format.

Cameron Green: The West Australian has been bombing them onto the Sabina Park roof at training in the lead up the series opener in Kingston, Jamaica. Having grown in confidence throughout the Test series after assuming the No.3 role following his comeback from back surgery, Green will be out to cement a spot in Australia’s T20 line-up. There will be intrigue around his position in this series with the 26-year-old playing as a specialist batter as he continues to build up his bowling loads for the home summer after his injury. Green hit 62 not out off 39 balls from No.4 against Scotland three T20 appearances ago.

Green slams five sixes in career-best T20 knock

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result   

West Indies: WLLLLLLNWL

West Indies comfortably won their last T20 international, a one-off match against Ireland, but prior to that they’ve been whitewashed 3-0 in their past two series, by England last month and Bangladesh last December. In fact, West Indies have only won two of their past 14 T20s dating back to October 15 last year and are currently ranked sixth in the world, four spots below Australia in second.

Australia: WWWLWWWWLL

Australia’s T20 team have been on a hot streak since the start of 2024, winning 17 of their 21 matches in that time. Two of those losses – to Afghanistan and India – ended their World Cup last year, but they bounced back by sweeping Scotland and Pakistan 3-0 in the months that followed. Australia have also won their past two T20I series against West Indies (2-1 in February 2024 and 2-0 in October 2022).

Qantas Tour of the West Indies

First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 10am AEST)

Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 10am AEST)

Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)

Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)

Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)

West Indies T20 squad: Shai Hope (c), Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde (St Kitts only), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell (Kingston only), Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

Australia’s T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa