Durrant Pate/Contributor

Sabina Park, the home of test cricket in Jamaica, is set for history-making moments this summer as the West Indies readies to host an upcoming test match tour of Australia.

If all goes as planned, Sabina Park will host its first-ever day-night Test when Australia visit for the third match of their West Indies tour in July. Sabina Park has never hosted any day-night international cricket due to the poor quality of the lights there.

Also, fans may witness a pink-ball test there for the second time in Windies history, but this is dependent on the completion of floodlight upgrade works to bring the venue up to international standards.

This will be Australia’s first test tour of West Indies since 2015 which featured a Test at Sabina Park that the visitors won by 277 runs with Steven Smith making 199.

Authorities hopeful all will be in place

Australia have won 12 of their 13 pink-ball tests but they have all been played at home. Cricket West Indies (CWI) officials are hopeful the planned Sabina Park will go ahead smoothly. 

Tickets for the series went on sale earlier this week and the Jamaican test listed as a day-night encounter with a 1:30 pm start time. This will be preceded by two red-ball matches in Barbados and Grenada. 

Cricket Australia is supportive of the Sabina Park Test being a day-nighter with a team being sent to Jamaica as part of a pre-tour inspection later this month. Australia have never played a day-night Test overseas.

West Indies has previously hosted one day-night test, against Sri Lanka in Barbados in 2018. 

Last year, the Windies handed Australia their first defeat in a day-night test with the famous Shamar Joseph-inspired victory at the Gabba.

CWI chief executive Chris Dehring told a press conference on Monday, “The Australians have agreed for it to be a day-night Test match. It is of course subject to the new lighting system that’s being implemented at Sabina Park, that it is finished in time and of course to specification.”

According to Dehring, “We have in place a very strong monitoring and support system to help the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Jamaican government achieve this. We are certainly looking forward to hosting the very first day-night match.”

For both teams, the series will be their first in the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle.