LARA
MELBOURNE (Reuters):
A YOUTHFUL but full-strength West Indies side arrived in Australia yesterday to begin its three-Test tour against a team that appears to have recovered from the disappointment of losing the Ashes.
Starting the series as huge underdogs, coach Bennett King is confident his side can begin the long task of rebuilding the reputation of a team that was once the finest in world cricket.
"I think it's more experience we're probably lacking," King told reporters when they arrived in Brisbane yesterday.
"Eleven of the players are 25 and under. There's only two that are over 30 and they're our most experienced players.
"(But) the players to a man, they're really dedicated and they work hard and I've been really happy with the progressions that have been made to date."
TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD
King's task will be a tough one against Australia, who were stung by criticism from local media and fans after they lost the Ashes to England for the first time in 16 years.
The criticism motivated the Australians to a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of the ICC World XI side in one-day internationals in Melbourne before a crushing 210-run victory in the one-off super series Test match in Sydney.
West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul can take heart from the fact that he will lead a full-strength side after a protracted dispute between their board and players union over sponsorship and personal endorsement contracts was settled.
Missing 10 leading players because of the disagreement, West Indies were beaten 2-0 by Sri Lanka in a mid-year Test series and won just one of four one-day internationals.
While Brian Lara, who missed the Sri Lankan tour, has returned to the squad, his failure against the world champions while playing for the World XI must be of concern.
Lara, who is only 315 runs away from surpassing Allan Border's Test world record of 11,174 runs, scored just 41 runs in the Super Series Test.
He also totalled a measly five runs in the three one-dayers with scores of 0, 5 and 0, though King said he expected the 36-year-old to find his form again.
TEAM: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Tino Best, Dwyane Bravo, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.
