West Indies 2023 Tour Program
AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TOUR TO THE WEST INDIES - TOUR PROGRAM
**THIS TOUR IS NOW JUNE - JULY 2025
CLICK HERE FOR WEST INDIES 2025**
When preparing an Australian Cricket Tour to the West Indies our fingers are always crossed to play in Antigua and Barbados, but what we want is rarely what we get. Australia last played Test Cricket in Antigua 2008 and Barbados 2012 so it is time we returned. If only we had an influence on fixturing!
There has always been correlation between where we play and how many people tour. If we don’t play in Cape Town, or Kolkata, or Galle, or Barbados for example then fewer people tour. #Fact
“Dear West Indies Cricket,
If you invite Australia to play test cricket in Antigua, Barbados, and St Lucia in 2023 you will see 1000+ Australians visit each island. If you invite Australia to play in Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica, you won't.
We hope to see you in our thousands in 2023.
With Love,
Australian Cricket Tours.”
Not knowing where we play until 6 months or less before the first ball doesn’t help, but we've created a 3-Test tour program to showcase our favourite Caribbean for you. Our tour is presented so you know what to expect when you choose to join us in the wonderful West Indies.
No matter where play, we want you to receive excellent value for your time with us and will do our best for you with the cricket fixture we are given.
Indian Premier League (IPL) runs until the end of May 2023, so our program is focussed on touring the islands from June 1 – July 10 for 3 Test Matches. The first test in Dominica 2015 started on June 3 so we are maintaining the same match dates and the same starting island; St Maarten / St Martin (SXM), the world’s smallest shared land mass
Australian Cricket Tour To The West Indies 2023
June 1 - 6
Easy to reach with dozens of daily direct flights from USA to suit all airline frequent flyers, and plenty of flights for those that aren’t, we will be in this tiny half-French/half-Dutch hamlet from June 1.
Your 4-night SXM Tour starts on June 2 but you’re welcome to kick start one day early and get some early plane spotting done on famous Maho Beach. Even the most hardened plane-haters thrill to standing under inbound aircraft swooping as close as 10m above you.
With drinks included at our resort you may not want to leave, but we never go to SXM without cruising to our ever-favourite Prickly Pear on Anguilla. If you want a break from our included dinner, a night at the BBQ shacks of Grand Case is always good.
Jumping on a bongo bus to the Dutch Capital of Phillipsburg for incredibly affordable duty-free won’t disappoint nor will the vast promenade on Great Bay. 4 nights in SXM is never enough but leave we must for the first test in Antigua.
June 6 - 14
1st Test: Antigua, June 8 - 12, 2023
Your flight to Antigua is included so you only need to get up on time and let our friendly SXM taxi driver Lorraine shuttle you to the airport in time for the short hop to St John’s.
The world’s coolest bus driver known to us, ‘Big Earl’ will drive us from VC Bird International Airport to the all-inclusive Starfish Jolly Beach Resort on the south west coast, close to English & Falmouth Harbours. Big Earl will drive us to/from Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium each day, so you don’t have to worry about that unless you sleep in after too much rum-punch at sunset after play.
Speaking of sunsets, the best in Antigua are seen from Shirley Heights where half the nation ascends on Sunday to celebrate the end of another week or the local will be a West Indies victory. Win or lose, we will go to the Heights anyway but if we have an extra day if the game ends early, we will sail to Barbuda.
Otherwise, on Day 6 we can see Barbuda in the distabce as we cruise on our catamaran adventure around the island. This great day trip is a perfect way to end 8 nights in Awesome Antigua, before doing it again in Beautiful Barbados.
June 14 - 22
2nd Test: Barbados, June 16 - 21, 2023
Big Earl will take us back to the VC Bird for our included flight to the largest and arguably most popular island of the Eastern Caribbean. Rooster, a big cool Bajan, will meet us at Grantley Adams and deliver us safely to St Lawrence Gap on the south coast, the Caribbean’s most dynamic ‘strip’.
Hotels, restaurants, guesthouses, bars, resorts, clubs, street food, cafes, Dover Beach and most perfectly positioned Church in all of Christendom awaits you in this outstanding south coast village. With so many choices for post-play social intercourse, something you don’t have in Antigua, living ‘all-inclusive’ in St Lawrence would be wasted.
In years past we have stayed in 3 neighbouring hotels in ‘the Gap’, which doesn’t mean we will in 2023. Staying in hotels next door to each other is no different than being in opposing ‘wings’ in a massive resort, but it will come to availability.
While we work on that, Rooster will take us to and from famous Kensington Oval each day. We hope to have 5-days at ‘The Oval’ but if the game ends early we will take a leisurely drive around the island ticking the box on a few favourite rum shacks.
The day after play, we have an all-inclusive sunset sail along the west coast before lobbing over to vibrant St Vincent for 5 days in the Grenadines before out much-wanted 3rd Test in St Lucia.
June 22 - 27
Rooster will drive us to Grantley Adams for the non-stop-hop to the new Argyle International Airport on St Vincent’s east coast. We last toured St Vincent in 2012 for 2 ODI’s at Arnos Vale, but 6 nights was not enough and left us longing to return. Now we can.
Our friends Kim and Earl offer an unique airport transfer by boat along the south coast to our beach front hotel for 5 nights in the pristine Grenadines. Spare days can be exploring the ‘city of arches’ or Fort St Charlotte, but a primary purpose for many visitors are Pirates of the Caribbean film locations.
One day we will rocket to the far south of this 32 island archipelago nation for an afternoon at Sparrow’s Beach Club on Union Island. Snorkelling, swimming, or simply sunning on the whitest of white sand beaches (as seen in the films), on which we have a BBQ seafood lunch.
Bottomless rum-punch for the ride home will make you thankful that tomorrow is a day spent on the beach before doing ‘Pirates’ again the following day, though this time to the north.
5 smooth nights later, we’ll be zipped back across the waters to Argyle for the 30 mins flight north to Castries and much wanted 3rd Test at Beausejour.
June 27 – July 5
2nd Test: St Lucia, June 29 - July 3, 2023
Landing in the better of St Lucia’s two international airports, when arriving into George Charles Airport the views of the capital, Castries, just 11km south of Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, from the right-hand side are spectacular.
We have 8 nights in a luscious all-inclusive resort on Reduit Beach on at very popular Rodney Bay. Only 4km from the cricket, we will shuttle you to and from the game making St Lucia as deservedly relaxing as possible.
On Day 6 a catamaran will pick us up on Reduit beach and sail to St Lucia’s postcard geographic wonders and national symbol, the Pitons. Stopping in the French village of Soufriere for ‘refreshment’, we lunch on Anse Chastanet and swim the afternoon away before another sunset sail home.
If the game ends early you can (as on any other island) tee-up on spectacular Sandals Country Club north of Rodney Bay. We will otherwise have an optional day trip through the island. If you are not joining us in St Kitts and flying home from St Lucia, you may fly from Hewanorra Airport in the far south.
The 65km drive from Rodney Bay is firstly at your expense, but secondly allow time to stop along the way. There is a lot more spectacular West Indian scenery and views to enjoy before you leave for what could be another 5 or more years!
July 5 - 10
One of our preferred ‘little’ islands to play Cricket, perfectly positioned between lovable St Maarten and awesome Antigua, any cricket scheduled here is a blessing. Warner Park is in the city (town!) of Basseterre is just 5km from our favoured resort, the only hotel on Frigate Bay, which is two bays on opposing sides of the isthmus. You won't arrive at the wrong one, as we you be transferred on arrival.
We live and survive and on the Caribbean side, on the ‘strip’, which is the epi-centre of St Kittitian entertainment. Beach bars, restaurants, grills, music, flame torches, and lots of sand is where we kick back after the Test Series for 4 nights, and a round island road and rail trip! The Eastern Caribbean’s only railway will be part of the journey to Brimstone Hill Fortress and the black sand beach of Dieppe.
It wouldn’t be an island trip without including a day on a catamaran also. We will sail south to the St Kitt’s stunning sister isle of Nevis for lunch before sailing north for sunset off Brimstone Hill.
We would love to play Test cricket here in 2023 (and always) and maybe we will be surprised, as we were with Dominica in 2012 and 2015. It’s a gorgeous little island where in 1995 we met the Australian Cricket Team. We were invited to their hotel manager’s rum-punch party and the rest, as we say, is why we are helping you enjoy Australian Cricket Tours to the West Indies and beyond today!
Waving goodbye from the islands, on July 10 we go to England for the Ashes! Are you coming?
July 10 – September 19 (TBC)
The Following Is The Ashes Cricket Tour 2019 Schedule With 2023 Dates. These Are Unconfirmed Dates.
1st Test – Edgbaston
- Birmingham, August 3 – 7, 2023
2nd Test – Lord’s Cricket Ground
- London, August 16 – 20, 2023
3rd Test – Headingley
- Leeds, August 24 – 28, 2023
4th Test – Old Trafford
- Manchester, September 6 – 10, 2023
5th Test – The Oval
- London, September 14 – 18, 2023