- FILE
Hinds ... scored a century on Friday.
ADELAIDE, Australia, CMC:
WITH AUSTRALIA'S qualification for the VB Series finals leaving the West Indies and Pakistan in a straight fight to join the hosts in the Best-of-Three deciding contest, the Caribbean side will be seeking a repetition of their excellent bowling performance of last Friday when they take on the hosts again in a day/night match-up on Wednesday (Tuesday night Caribbean time).
Sunday's nine-wicket trouncing of the Pakistanis in Sydney confirmed the Australians' qualification, but Brian Lara's men can expect no favours from the home side at the Adelaide Oval given their fiercely competitive nature.
The fact that the match will be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 30,000 on Australia Day, a national holiday, effectively eliminates any suggestion that Ricky Ponting's squad will be easing off the throttle ahead of the finals.
Indeed, they will want to prove that their top-order capitulation at The Gabba against the West Indian seamers was nothing more than a fluke.
FORTUNATE TO ESCAPE
Ponting admitted that Aus-tralia were fortunate to escape with a share of the points then, having been reduced to 43 for five off 11 overs in reply to the West Indies total of 263 for nine when persistent rain ended the match as a no-result.
The three points earned there lifted the regional side's tally to four points from three matches, two behind Pakistan, who also have three preliminary matches to play.
Two of those fixtures are against the West Indies, back at the Adelaide Oval on Friday and then in the last preliminary match in Perth next Tuesday.
At this critical stage of the tournament, Bennett King believes the Caribbean squad must not linger over what could have been in Brisbane and instead focus on the many positives coming out of that encounter.
"That match didn't set us back at all in any way, shape or form," the Australia-born head coach contended following the West Indies' first practice session yesterday afternoon since arriving in Adelaide last Saturday.
"I think what it showed is that, against one of the strongest batting line-ups in the world, we can get their top five batters out. There's not a lot of sides I think that can do that. When the ball is swinging, we figure we have a good chance of picking up early wickets wherever we play."
GOOD WEATHER EXPECTED
Pedro Collins led the way under the lights at The Gabba with a devastating spell of three for eight as the thunderstorms brewed overhead. However, conditions are expected to be quite different in Adelaide, with the unrelenting sunshine that has scorched the South Australian capital over the past few days expected to continue throughout the week.
In such circumstances and in such a dry, baking atmosphere, the ball may not dart about as much either under the lights.
Those factors, along with the unique shape and size of this picturesque ground, are prompting King to tailor his tactics according to the particular demands of playing here.
TAKING RISKS
"The one-day game lends itself to experimentation and taking risks," he explained.
"Personally, I'm not scared of taking risks and you find out information for the future. Because of the length of this field, with the square boundaries shorter, we're certainly looking at changing our bowling plans from what we had, and also making the batters aware of where to look to score most of the time and what sort of risks are safer than others."
On this elongated oval, the orders will certainly be to keep the ball well pitched up, not only to maximise any movement through the air, but to deny Australia's top order the opportunity to get full value from the cut, pull and hook shots that they enjoy playing.
Collins, fellow left-armer Ian Bradshaw along with Mervyn Dillon and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will again be expected to do the bulk of the bowling.
Chris Gayle's lingering shoulder injury means that Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels will be called upon to fill in the necessary overs, especially if any of the frontline seamers are put to the sword early on.
There will be no letting up from Australia, but they are expected to continue with the rotation of their bowling resources as fast bowler Jason Gillespie, who was rested at the Sydney Cricket Ground, will relish the opportunity to make an impact on his home ground.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg, who took five West Indian wickets in the tournament's opening match in Melbourne 12 days ago, could also return to the Australian line-up on a pitch noted for assisting slow bowlers.
At a time when they can ill afford any lapse in concentration and focus, the unseasonal heavy rains in the southern Caribbean have had an impact here, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul disturbed by the news that his home has been severely affected by the flood waters inundating much of coastal Guyana.
Yet such is the vice-captain's single-minded dedication in the middle that it is unlikely to distract him from the immediate task at hand.
PROBABLE TEAMS
WEST INDIES: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collins.
AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.
