Ponting - Reuters

MUMBAI, India (AP):

AUSTRALIA FACE defending champions the West Indies today in launching a chase for the one title that has eluded them during their long reign as the number-one ranked cricket team in the world.

Winners of the past two World Cups and well clear atop the Test ranking, Australia have stumbled in their bid to add the Champions Trophy to their collection of prizes.

The biennial Champions Trophy is the sport's second biggest limited overs tournament, having grown from a one-week knockout event into a month-long competition.

This year, a qualifying round was added in front of the preliminary stage, meaning only the top six teams advanced directly to the main tournament.

The West Indies had to play in the qualifiers, beating Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and losing to Sri Lanka to confirm their place in the eight-team competition.

England and hosts India are the other countries in Group A.

The Aussies might be slightly concerned with the dusty, low-bounce tracks that produced dismal batting performances in the first two games of the tournament that began on Sunday.

Negotiating the subcontinent's conditions - the pitches and the weather - was once a major concern for teams that played their cricket in different conditions, but the Australians are now more acquainted with India after making several tours here in recent years.

Testing conditions

"The conditions we've had in practice have been very testing on the players, but nothing will catch us off-guard," Australian captain Ricky Ponting said.

"The test is in adapting and adjusting your skills to the conditions, our squad has players who can adjust to various conditions," said Ponting.

Ponting said Aussie coach John Buchanan came to the ground during Monday's match between New Zealand and South Africa.

"The conditions seem to have given the bowlers a good time," Ponting said. "The pitches seem to be similar to the ones we played on in Malaysia last month; we're getting used to them and will adapt our game accordingly."

Seeking to use the outing as preparation for next year's World Cup, Ponting's team is also planning some experiments - like sending Shane Watson out as the opening partner for Adam Gilchrist.

Watson was, until now, considered primarily a bowler. Elevating him to the opening position will be a unique experiment where a bowling all-rounder pairs up with a wicketkeeper-batsman at the top of the order.

"We've not finalised the 11 yet, but Shane's probably going to open. He's done well when given a chance and I'd be surprised if it didn't happen," he said.

Gilchrist returns to the Australian side after taking a break while Australia took part in a tri-series competition in Malaysia last month. The Australians beat the West Indies in the final.

"It doesn't take long to get into the mould, considering the amount of cricket we've been playing for some time," Gilchrist said.

The West Indies are desperate to overcome the batting disaster at the same venue in Saturday's last qualifying match, when they were bundled out for 80 and lost by nine wickets to Sri Lanka.

That victory gave Sri Lanka the top spot in the qualifiers, and a place in Group B along side South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Deteriorating pitches

Windies captain Brian Lara said the deteriorating pitches seen so far add a fresh dimension to the tournament.

"The pitch factor is going to play a part here, so it's not necessarily the best team that's going to win," Lara said.

"We're the defending champions and quite aware of that, as well as the debacle in the last game," he said. "We need to get some structure in our batting, our boys have done it before."

Australia's attack will feature the pace duo of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee operating together for the first time on Indian soil. Lee has missed several Australian tours of India because of injuries.

Teams - Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Shane Watson, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Dan Cullen, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson and Simon Katich.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh Jr., Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Runako Morton and Jerome Taylor.