Will the test series be more even than we reckon ?

[Bloodstained Angel]

Ok - here's how I see it

Over the past few years the Australian Test Team appears to have carried everything before it - but are they really that good ?

The difference between Australia and other nations over the past years have been due to two very important weapons we have that others don't :

1) Ian Healey's ability to save the Australian batting at crucial times.

2) Shane Warne's ability to bowl any batting side out (in any conditions, on virtually any strip)

Now Healey has retired and Warne has broken his finger - will this make any difference at all to the West Indies chances this summer ? - or is it just more Lambs to the Slaughter ?

Gilchrist appears to be have taken up where Healey left off - good, because I think Australia's middle order is still fragile and any batting provided by the Wicketkeeper and tailend are going to be much appreciated.

But with Warne out injured, Australia have lost a dead-set fair dinkum match winner and they maybe in for a struggle

maybe ...

BA,

I think that the side for this series will be the best test side we've put on the park for years. Finally McGrath, Gillespie and Lee are all playing together and we don't lose much with Warne out. Macgill has a better leg break anyway and thats the ball that always troubles the Windies batsmen.

Our only problem is the form of Mark Waugh but we could easily replace him with Lehman or Martyn.

I'm sure the Windies will finish the tour better than they start the tour but by that time it'll be too late.

[WCE2000]

You do have a point BSA, but there is an inceridble amount of depth in Australian Cricket at the moment, i can not see the West Indies providing much of a challenge for Australia.

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Good luck at the Athens Olympics Mags, go for gold in Taekwondo.

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[goatmaster]

Weather exepted we should win 5-0 our team is very good & they are atrocious. I predict they will reach 200 on no more than 4 innings in the series.
GM

[Bloodstained Angel]

Just about right there Spogs

I think the Aussie batting is looking much more solid up the top order with Langer coming in at 3. He's the best we've had there since Boonie retired. Now if we can just replace Mark Waugh with somone who is a little more consistent then our batting would be truly awesome and hopefully we won't see too many of these kinds of scenarios :

Australia opens - plays well - then 3 quick wickets fall - then Steve Waugh goes - and suddenly Australia are 4/150 - enter Ian Healey ...

you know what I mean ?

BA

I know what you mean about Healy's reliability. With the exception of Steve Waugh the rest of the lineup is fairly one-paced and don't always show the G & T that Healy did.

They can all be fanstastic but if the ball's doing a bit they don't really change their game.

It was good to see Gillespie get a half century last weekend so maybe there are a few more runs in the tail if required.

By the way Sri Lanka beat India by the highest ever one day margin 254 runs with Jayasuriya scoring 184 off 161. I wish we were playing them.

[Tom FC]

I think it's a bit tough on Adam Gilchrist to say he's not as capable a batsman as Ian Healy. He could almost make the team for his batting alone.

And I think Stuart McGill is a more than capable replacement for Shane Warne.

Don't forget McGrath, B.Lee, and Gillespie. They've been known to snare the odd wicket themselves.

I only worry about our batting lineup. I think it's time we brought in some new blood.