The Australian Tri-Series was an annual one day international (ODI) cricket tournament held in Australia, and contested by Australia and two touring teams. The series was the primary format for international one-day cricket throughout most of the early history of ODI cricket in Australia, staged during the height of the Australian cricket season, in the summer months of December, January and February. The tri-series was first held in 1979–80 and was contested every season until 2007–08. It has since been held only twice since 2007-08, and ODI cricket has since been played as bilateral ODI series against a single touring opponent. History The concept of a three-team international series known as a 'tri-series' in cricket originated with the World Series Cricket program sponsored by Kerry Packer. Packer was keen to exploit what he saw as strong interest in ODI cricket, and staged long tri-series amongst teams from Australia, West Indies, and The Rest of the World in the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. These tournaments have never been awarded either One Day International or List A status. When the World Series Cricket schism ended in 1979–80, the tri-series format was retained. Throughout its existence, the tournament was held as a series of One Day Internationals, featuring a round-robin played amongst the three teams, followed by a finals series played between the top two. The most common format over the years was that each team played each other four times in the round-robin, followed by a final decided by a best-of-three series (with the third match played only if necessary), for a total of fourteen or fifteen ODIs played through the summer. The basic format has been unchanged throughout the tri-series' history, but specific details have varied: From 1980–81 to 1985–86, and in 1998–99, each team played the others five times during the round robin In 1980–81 and 1981–82, the finals series was best of five In 1994–95 only, a quadrangular series featuring two touring sides, Australia and Australia A was played; each team played the others twice during the round robin, followed by a best-of-three finals series. Matches played against Australia A are considered List A matches, but not as official One Day Internationals. In 2004–05 only, each team played the others only three times during the round robin In 2014–15 only, each team played the others only twice during the round robin with a solitary final Over its duration, the