Rick18
4 Jul 2008, 11:48
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West Indies aim to restore pride
The Big Picture
The spark has rather disappeared from a tour that during the Test portion delivered a few non-fatal shocks to Australia. If the 2-0 Test result did not fully reflect the closeness of the series, the 3-0 scoreline in the ODIs has been totally justified. It means Australia have already won the five-match contest, although they will be keen to avoid a repeat of their 2003 tour of West Indies when they secured the series by claiming the first four matches, then went down in the remaining three. For the home team, the main aim is to regain some lost pride.
ODI form guide
West Indies - LLLNW (most recent first)
Australia - WWWLL
Team news
It was not surprising that West Indies dropped three players from the squad for the final two games. Patrick Browne, Sulieman Benn and Kieron Pollard were axed, while Jerome Taylor was also unavailable due to a shoulder injury. Three uncapped men have been included, though it is not clear how many will play. Nikita Miller is a strong chance to make his debut in a straight swap for Benn, while it would also be a good time to test the fast bowler Kemar Roach. Shawn Findlay's chances of a top-order spot could hinge on whether any of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are rested with their injury niggles.
West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Andre Fletcher, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Daren Powell.
The main question in the Australian camp is whether the captain Ricky Ponting will be rested after he battled a slight wrist injury in the previous match. The problem is not considered serious but he trained very lightly on Wednesday and could potentially hand the captaincy reins to Michael Clarke, who has only led his country in Twenty20 internationals. With the series already decided there will likely be places for David Hussey and Stuart Clark, the only two members of the squad who have not yet been used, while Brett Lee might be rested.
Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting/David Hussey, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 James Hopes, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Stuart Clark.
Watch out for ...
Nikita Miller The third specialist spinner used by West Indies during Australia's tour, after Amit Jaggernauth in the first Test and Sulieman Benn in the third Test and opening one-dayers. Some West Indies observers were surprised Miller was overlooked earlier in the series after topping the domestic first-class wicket list for the season. A left-arm orthodox bowler, he will be hoping for a more promising start to his international career than most West Indies slow men.
Andrew Symonds After missing the first two games with a back injury, Symonds was not required to do much with the bat in his return as the top order drove Australia most of the way home. He did pick up a couple of wickets with his offspin and further bowling success might make Australia rethink whether they need a specialist spinner in the short formats following Brad Hogg's retirement. There's also the small matter of his batting, which could provide the St Kitts crowd with some entertainment.
Umpires Asad Rauf, Steve Bucknor.
Weather
Scattered showers are forecast in Basseterre on Friday.
Stats and trivia
Australia have happy memories of Warner Park, where they played three games during last year's World Cup and posted 300-plus scores every time. Two of the outings were against minnows but the defeat of South Africa was especially memorable, with Ponting and Clarke both falling just short of triple figures as the team made 377 for 6.
West Indies have only played one ODI at the venue, when Sarwan and Chanderpaul guided them to victory over India in 2006.
Gayle's 53 in the previous match in Grenada is West Indies' only half-century of the series; Australia have had six men pass fifty once each.
Quotes
"They are the best team, and you can look to see where your cricket is. It would be really disappointing to lose 5-0."
Chris Gayle, West Indies' captain
"At the start of the series we said we wanted to win 5-0. We've got two games to go and I think we're playing good enough cricket to do that."
Michael Clarke, Australia's vice-captain
West Indies aim to restore pride
The Big Picture
The spark has rather disappeared from a tour that during the Test portion delivered a few non-fatal shocks to Australia. If the 2-0 Test result did not fully reflect the closeness of the series, the 3-0 scoreline in the ODIs has been totally justified. It means Australia have already won the five-match contest, although they will be keen to avoid a repeat of their 2003 tour of West Indies when they secured the series by claiming the first four matches, then went down in the remaining three. For the home team, the main aim is to regain some lost pride.
ODI form guide
West Indies - LLLNW (most recent first)
Australia - WWWLL
Team news
It was not surprising that West Indies dropped three players from the squad for the final two games. Patrick Browne, Sulieman Benn and Kieron Pollard were axed, while Jerome Taylor was also unavailable due to a shoulder injury. Three uncapped men have been included, though it is not clear how many will play. Nikita Miller is a strong chance to make his debut in a straight swap for Benn, while it would also be a good time to test the fast bowler Kemar Roach. Shawn Findlay's chances of a top-order spot could hinge on whether any of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are rested with their injury niggles.
West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Andre Fletcher, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Daren Powell.
The main question in the Australian camp is whether the captain Ricky Ponting will be rested after he battled a slight wrist injury in the previous match. The problem is not considered serious but he trained very lightly on Wednesday and could potentially hand the captaincy reins to Michael Clarke, who has only led his country in Twenty20 internationals. With the series already decided there will likely be places for David Hussey and Stuart Clark, the only two members of the squad who have not yet been used, while Brett Lee might be rested.
Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting/David Hussey, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 James Hopes, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Stuart Clark.
Watch out for ...
Nikita Miller The third specialist spinner used by West Indies during Australia's tour, after Amit Jaggernauth in the first Test and Sulieman Benn in the third Test and opening one-dayers. Some West Indies observers were surprised Miller was overlooked earlier in the series after topping the domestic first-class wicket list for the season. A left-arm orthodox bowler, he will be hoping for a more promising start to his international career than most West Indies slow men.
Andrew Symonds After missing the first two games with a back injury, Symonds was not required to do much with the bat in his return as the top order drove Australia most of the way home. He did pick up a couple of wickets with his offspin and further bowling success might make Australia rethink whether they need a specialist spinner in the short formats following Brad Hogg's retirement. There's also the small matter of his batting, which could provide the St Kitts crowd with some entertainment.
Umpires Asad Rauf, Steve Bucknor.
Weather
Scattered showers are forecast in Basseterre on Friday.
Stats and trivia
Australia have happy memories of Warner Park, where they played three games during last year's World Cup and posted 300-plus scores every time. Two of the outings were against minnows but the defeat of South Africa was especially memorable, with Ponting and Clarke both falling just short of triple figures as the team made 377 for 6.
West Indies have only played one ODI at the venue, when Sarwan and Chanderpaul guided them to victory over India in 2006.
Gayle's 53 in the previous match in Grenada is West Indies' only half-century of the series; Australia have had six men pass fifty once each.
Quotes
"They are the best team, and you can look to see where your cricket is. It would be really disappointing to lose 5-0."
Chris Gayle, West Indies' captain
"At the start of the series we said we wanted to win 5-0. We've got two games to go and I think we're playing good enough cricket to do that."
Michael Clarke, Australia's vice-captain