BRISBANE, Australia, CMC – Haunted by 15 years of failure against the World champions, West Indies will seek to overcome their recent history of under-achievement when they face Australia in the opening game of the three-Test series at the Gabba today.
Not since Richie Richardson led his side to a 2-1 win in the 1992/93 series has Windies tasted a series success against the hosts and they will be redoubling the efforts to rid themselves of the nightmare that has followed them.
As expected, Australia start the series as heavy favourites with the bookmakers having installed them at heavy odds to win the series, which also sees Tests in Adelaide and Perth later this month.
West Indies, meanwhile, have had their chances virtually written off and based on their performance against Queensland Bulls in their only warm-up match last week, they will be hard-pressed to deny the Australians.
They are coming off a bruising contracts impasse which decimated the regional side, forcing an inexperienced second string squad to contest the Bangladesh series and travel to the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The dispute left the top tier players short of international match practice but more significantly, with deep wounds to heal following their return to the side that includes players from the squad who opted to play during the strike.
Coach David Williams yesterday said uniting the squad would prove to be their main weapon against the rampant Aussies.
“We have come together here as a team and the team spirit is very good. Even before we left the Caribbean we knew what to expect and we had discussions which outlined what would be required,” he explained.
“Australia is a tough place to play cricket for visiting teams and we know we have to work hard and work for each other. We have no problems at all. At the end of the day we are looking for good performances and looking to beat the Australians.”
