The furore over World Series Cricket had led the ACB to refuse to consider for selection to the national team any Australian player that had signed up to WSC.

The West Indies Cricket Board took a different view, and chose a number of their players from those signed to the Kerry Packer organisation for the first two games.

However, in the lead up to the 3rd Test in Guyana, the WICB made a decision to leave out three of their WSC contracted players, ostensibly to allow others a chance to play in test matches prior to the West Indies' tour to India and Sri Lanka later in the year, which would be at a time that World Series Cricket could not guarantee the availability of their West Indian players.

[2] Australia had just defeated India 3–2 at home during the 1977–78 season; however, the team was rebuilding in the wake of defections of players to World Series Cricket.

The original squad selected were as follows: Kim Hughes fell ill during the tour and David Ogilvie was flown out as a replacement.

Australia started the tour well with a victory against Leeward Islands, with Wood and Simpson both scoring centuries and Jim Higgs taking 12 wickets.

[4] Australia's team for the test match consisted of Darling, Wood, Yallop, Toohey, Cosier, Simpson, Rixon, Thomson, Yardley, Higgs and Clarke, with Serjeant as twelfth man.

Ogilvie was selected to play even though he did not arrive in Barbados until the second day of the match, in order to give him a chance to make the test eleven.

Australia's first innings was notable for Graham Yallop being the first batsman to wear a full protective helmet in test cricket and Bruce Yardley's knock of 74 off 48 balls.

Jeff Thomson then delivered an inspiring spell of bowling which Simpsons said "proved beyond question that he is the world's fastest bowler".

[9] Thomson ended up taking 6–77, limiting the West Indies lead to 38, but Australia collapsed in their second innings (despite another Yardley cameo) and the hosts had little difficulty in winning by nine wickets.

[10] After the game, news came through that three of the new players in the West Indies team – Desmond Haynes, Richard Austin and Colin Croft – had signed with WSC.

[11] The third test began in controversy when Haynes, Austin and Murray were omitted from the West Indies side – ostensibly in order to give new players a go before the upcoming tour of India.

The West Indies Cricket Board announced that any players who signed with WSC would not be considered for the rest of the series and picked a new team captained by Alvin Kallicharran.

[15] For the fourth test, Peter Toohey and Graham Yallop came back into the Australian side from injury (replacing Ogilvie and Cosier), and Jim Higgs was preferred to Trevor Laughlin, as it was felt his bowling would suit the conditions.

[18] Australia decided not to pick Clark for this game or the test because of fear the West Indies umpire would call him for throwing, so Callen took his place.

Kim Hughes fell ill and had to have his appendix removed; he was to have batted number three so Graham Yallop, who was going to be 12th man, came into the side.

In this fiery spell Thomson knocked off Viv Richards' cap who is often regarded as greatest batsman against genuine fast bowling and finished with 6/77.