24 November, 2009
Australia goes into Thursday's first Test against the West Indies in Brisbane a short-priced favourite to start the three-Test series with a win.
The Australian selectors have kept faith with the Ashes line-up with only one change - left-arm quick Doug Bollinger in for his New South Wales team-mate Stuart Clark - to the squad that conceded the fifth Test to England at The Oval by 197 runs.
Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke have recovered from the finger and back injuries that forced them to miss the recent ODI series in India, and Victorian paceman Peter Siddle is rested after his early return from that tour with a side strain.
The tourists are relatively inexperienced save for their stalwart core of skipper Chris Gayle, who scored 10 and 33 in his only previous appearance at the Gabba in 2005, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
Gayle's preparation for the Test was disrupted when he dashed home to Jamaica to be with his mother who was taken ill with a heart problem.
The 84-Test veteran, one of only two specialist openers in the touring squad, was scheduled to return to Brisbane on Wednesday, giving him just 24 hours to acclimatise.
It will have to do, because the West Indies will founder without him.
The importance of Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Bravo was underscored by their contributions in the tourists' only lead-up match against a young Queensland line-up at Allan Border Field.
They were their team's three top-scorers in the first innings and Chanderpaul and Sarwan followed up with 69 and 66 respectively in the second dig which was bettered only by teenage opener Adrian Barath's 74.
Glenn McGrath's penchant for nominating his 'bunny' at the start of series hasn't been adopted by any of his successors among the Australian quicks.
But Siddle planted a psychological seed with his promise to intimidate Chanderpaul, the world's fourth-ranked batsman, with plenty of short-pitched stuff on a Gabba deck that's expected to provide plenty of assistance early.
The big worry for the West Indies is the way their attack was monstered in the tour match by the young Bulls who plundered 617 for the loss of just seven wickets in their only turn at bat.
Twenty-one-year-old quick Kemar Roach claimed a team-best 3-135, while the lanky Sulieman Benn conceded 151 runs with his left-arm orthodox spinners for the return of just one wicket.
The tourists are apparently undecided about whether to play a spinner in Brisbane, but the Australians are likely to in light of curator Kevin Mitchell Junior's forecast for the wicket to deteriorate and turn from day four.
If Nathan Hauritz is to play, it will be his first test at 'home' in Queensland, where he was born and raised, and first appearance in the baggy green since he was overlooked for the Ashes Test at the Oval.
Both teams have moved on since their last (three-Test) series in the West Indies in 2008 which the Australians won 2-0.
Back then it was Stuart Clark, Brett Lee and left-arm wrist-spinner Beau Casson on debut who bowled Australia to an 87-run win in Barbados to clinch the series.
It's 21 seasons since Australia's last defeat at the Gabba (it was against the West Indies) and the hosts' record at the venue since then - 15 wins and five draws - is excellent.
India in 2003-04 managed to force a draw but Australia's past five opponents - New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies and New Zealand again - were all thoroughly outplayed.
The forecast is for hot and fine conditions for all five days barring the chance of a late thunderstorm on Saturday.