Australia v West Indies: All you need to know guide

When does it start? 

Tonight on the Gold Coast! This super-fast two-match series will be all over in the space of three days with two matches in Queensland serving as T20 World Cup preparation for both sides. 

The opening T20I takes place at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast and it will be followed on Friday with a match at the Gabba in Brisbane. 

 - October 5: First T20I, Gold Coast, 7:10pm AEDT

 - October 7: Second T20I, Brisbane, 7:10pm AEDT

Is it a full-strength Aussie side? 

With the World Cup just around the corner, pretty much! David Warner, who was rested from the India tour, is back along with Mitch Marsh (ankle) and Mitch Starc (knee), who both also stayed home as a precaution. 

However Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson, who are both members of Australia's 15-player T20 World Cup squad, are being managed for this series.

"We have and are taking a cautious approach with the World Cup on the near horizon," National Selection Panel (NSP) Chair George Bailey said.

"We anticipate Kane and Ashton will return for the following series against England."

Marcus Stoinis is a notable absentee after the allrounder re-injured his side in the ODI series against New Zealand in September and he sat out the subsequent T20I tour to India. Stoinis has gone home to Perth in preparation for the series against England where he is expected to re-join the squad there. 

How can I watch or listen?

Like all men's white-ball internationals in the country, the series will be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Fox Sports and Kayo subscription services. Kayo offers a seven-day free trial for new subscribers, and you can sign up for that here.

For fans overseas, check out the broadcast info here.

Fans will also be able to listen to all the action via SEN and ABC, including audio streams from both radio broadcasters available on the CA Live app.

What about live scores, news and highlights?

Where else but cricket.com.au and the CA Live app for everything you'll need for before, during and after each ODI. As well as live scores, we'll have highlights of every key moment to go with reports, breaking news, analysis and interviews from our reporters throughout the tour.

You can also catch up on all the latest news via The Unplayable Podcast, where we will be joined by special guests to dissect all the talking points throughout the series. Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts and anywhere else you get your pods.

Squads

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

West Indies: Nicholas Pooran (c), Rovman Powell (vc), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed Mccoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith

And what about the West Indies?

Given the tight turnaround and long travel times, the West Indies have brought their World Cup squad to this two-game series, led by former Melbourne Stars import Nicholas Pooran.

The Windies have made a raft of changes to the squad that struggled at last year's edition of the tournament, retaining only five players from their squad of 15 with Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard among the big-name changes.

They'll also be without Shimron Hetmyer, who was sensationally dropped by the West Indies after missing his flight to Australia.

He's been replaced in the T20 World Cup squad by Shamarh Brooks but it's unlikely we'll see Brooks in this series as he will make his way Down Under "as soon as possible".

What's the head-to-head?

Interestingly, the two sides have only met 17 times in T20Is since their first meeting in 2008, with five of those coming in last year's five-match bilateral series which the West Indies won 4-1. The Windies hold a 10-7 head-to-head lead but Australia won their most recent encounter by eight wickets, at last year's T20 World Cup.

In Australia, the Aussies hold a 2-1 lead from two matches in 2010 and one in 2013.

Form guide

Australia haven't played a heap of T20Is of late, with a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka away from home and the 2-1 loss to India just last week their only matches in the last six months. But the World Champions' record is good since they lifted the trophy in Dubai almost 12 months ago, with eight wins from 12 matches.

The West Indies have played a lot more T20 cricket since last year's World Cup, playing 22 matches for seven wins and 14 losses (one no result). Since July, they've had three series at home; a 2-0 win over Bangladesh, a 4-1 loss to India and a 2-1 loss to New Zealand.

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