02.05
By Ant Sims
Resurgence has long been within the West Indies grasp and if it weren’t for ugly off field controversies which have marred the boys from the Caribbean for so many months, it might have kicked into gear long ago.
Despite Dwayne Bravo being ruled out with injury , the visitors started their one-day campaign on a high with a victory over the Prime Minister’s XI but if they are to honour newly appointed coach Ottis Gibson’s mantra, they’ll have to forget about the glory days past and focus on the present.
A positive showing in the recent Test series will give the visitors some confidence but they have to bear in mind that Australia will be ever-buoyant after their demolition job on Pakistan.
The good news is that captain Chris Gayle looks to be in red-hot form and when Gayle is on fire, he seems to propel the whole team to a solid performance. Exciting young prospects makes up the rest of the team but the middle order have to stay focussed, even if their skipper fails at the top of the order.
Lendl Simmons and Travis Dowlin contributed handy 70 not out and 72 respectively in the warm up game and everybody knows just how dangerous Kieron Pollard can be so prospects are looking good for the boys from the Caribbean.
Australia will have to make do without the service of Peter Siddle but rising star Shane Watson is back alongside Doug Bollinger. Australia will be keen to continue their winning streak in order to rebuild their confidence after their unfortunate loss in the Ashes series during 2009.
Prediction:
A win for the West Indies would mean the world to the youngsters and set the foundation for a positive start for Gibson. Consistency for the bowlers will be key and, if they can back each other up the tourists are in with a chance. While a series victory is probably unlikely, this series will provide a huge opportunity to test their mettle and we are surely in for a tight-contest filled with plenty of mouth-watering action.
I would love to eat my words, though.
Watch out for:
West Indies: Kieron Pollard will be eager to prove his worth after being sold for an astronomical sum during the recent IPL auction. The powerful all-rounder has a rather average record in the shorter format of the game but what better way to put your money where your talent than to perform against Australia on their home turf?
Australia: The man we love to hate, Shane Watson will probably reignite his battle against Chris Gayle and if the all-rounder can carry his form from the Test series into the one-day format, he’ll be giving the West Indies grey hairs.
Squads:
West Indies: Chris Gayle (Captain), Wavell Hinds, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Runako Morton, Nikita Miller, Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons Dwayne Smith & Gavin Tonge.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Michael Clarke (vc), Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, James Hopes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Shane Watson & Cameron White
Fixtures:
1st ODI – February 6: Australia v West Indies, Melbourne (Saturday – 11:25pm ECT/10:25 pm ET, Sunday Feb 7th 3:25 am GMT )
* Ant Sims is an ardent international cricket fan who blogs at paddlesweep.net. She lives in South Africa but has a soft spot for West Indies cricket. You can follow Ant Sims on twitter.com/mspr1nt or subscribe to the blog.
*wicricnews.com welcomes the submission of cricket related articles. Contact the site admin@wicricnews.com if you would like to have your submissions posted.
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[...] on the otherside of the world, the West Indies were humilated. I wrote a series preview for the West Indies Cricket News site and it seems my watch out for prediction has been spot on [...]
[...] on the otherside of the world, the West Indies were humiliated. I wrote a series preview for the West Indies Cricket News site and it seems my watch out for prediction has been spot on [...]
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