Tony Becca THE West Indies enter the third Test against Australia tomorrow at Kensington Oval with one thing on their minds - to prevent the Aussies from winning it and leaving themselves in a position to make a clean sweep of the series.
After losing the first two matches, the West Indies are two down in the four-match contest, and although with one more to come they would still have another chance of preventing it, another defeat in the third Test would make it three from three and would leave the Aussies with a great chance of becoming the first visiting team to win every match in a series in the West Indies.
After nailing the West Indies 5-0 at home last time they met, a whitewash of the West Indies in their own backyard would really be sweet revenge for the beatings Australia suffered during the 1980s.
BEST CHANCE
Now that they cannot lose the series and need only a draw to win it, that is Australia's ambition, and the West Indies' best chance of denying them that final revenge is to stop them at this point.
Remembering the results of the first two matches and what they are now up against, however, the odds are stacked against the West Indies even more so than it did going into the matches at Bourda and Queen's Park Oval.
The West Indies lost the first Test by nine wickets and the second by 118 runs.
Their batting was the only saving grace, and Glenn McGrath, the pacer who took 21 wickets in the last series including six for 17 and four for 10 when Australia blasted the West Indies for 82 and 124 in the first Test and who did not play in either of those matches, is expected to join Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.
Lion's Den
That is an awesome trio of fast bowlers, and Kensington Oval, the 'Lion's Den' for many years for visiting teams because of its pitch and the succession of great West Indies fast bowlers, may this time around be hell for the home team's batsmen.
Although the odds are against them, even though their captain, Brian Lara, emphasised the difference in quality between the two teams when he said that they could get a draw if Australia were handicapped, the West Indies must be hoping, and with two batsmen like Lara himself and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in their line-up, if two or three others from Christopher Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Daren Ganga and Devon Smith fire, they could surprise.
Scoring runs is one thing, however, getting wickets is something else. Most times a huge total by the opposition destroys even a good batting team, and even before thinking of a draw much more victory, the West Indies selectors will be well advised to pay attention to the 11 they will be sending into the 'Lion's Den'.
Looking at the team that played in the second Test, Wavell Hinds, David Bernard Jnr., and Pedro Collins have already been dropped, with Ridley Jacobs back, Carlton Baugh Jnr. should be out, and it is expected that Gayle, Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs and Jermaine Lawson will be in.
MISTAKE
The West Indies, however, cannot afford to make the mistake they made in the second Test. They cannot, or rather should not, go into the Test with only three specialist bowlers, they have to select a fourth bowler preferably pacer Tino Best, and that means they have to omit a batsman.
Gayle will certainly be in the team, so too Lara, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Ganga. That means it is between Samuels and Smith, and looking at their talent, at their record for the West Indies, at Samuels' brilliance in India and his potential, and remembering that Ganga is no stranger to opening the innings, in the interest of the team and all things considered, despite his short-comings, it should be Samuels and not Smith.
Whatever the selectors do, they should not sacrifice a bowler for a batsman. If they do that, they will neither get wickets nor score enough runs especially if Australia bat first, they will not even draw much more win, and they will hand Australia a great chance to make it three out of three in their bid for four out of four.
