From 1977/78 to 2009/10, the West Indies and Australia have been engaged in 20 one-day series in the respective teams’ backyards, that have either been bilateral, triangular or in some cases quadrangular.
Surprisingly, the regional side, heading into the 21st meeting between the two outfits, has a historical edge; winning nine (9) of those series, compared to Australia’s seven (7).
However, on closer analysis, one would have to note that the last time the Windies triumphed over the boys from Down Under in a one-day international series was during the 1995 home season when under the stewardship of Richie Richardson – in battle with his opposite number Mark Taylor – they successfully toppled the four (4) time World Cup champions 4-1.
The paradigm shift of fortunes over the last 17 years of the two combatants has been drastic as the teams prepare of the 21st one-day series clash of the 2012 Digicel home series tomorrow.
Other than a keenly-contested 3-3 drawn series during the 1999 Cable and Wireless home series, which is notoriously or disgruntling (depending on which team you support) remembered for the fans invasion at Bourda Oval during one of the matches – all the 50 over contests with the two teams since 1995 have been thoroughly one-sided in general barring the odd game.
This is highlighted clearly in the most recent series in Australia 2010 where the home side triumphed 4-0 in the five (5) match tour while, during Australia’s most recent visit to the Caribbean in 2008, they whitewashed the home side 5-0.
Coincidentally, as was the case in 2008, tomorrow’s competition opener commences at the Arnos Vale Ground in St. Vincent. Four seasons ago a debut half-century and a four-wicket haul from recently axed opener Shawn Marsh and former left-arm medium pacer Nathan Bracken, propelled the Aussies to a 84-run win, setting the trend for the aforementioned rout.
Since that 2008 series, although Australia failed in their unprecedented task to win a hat-trick of Cricket World Cup titles, after they were eliminated in the quarterfinals to eventual champions India – they have maintained their number one ranking in limited overs cricket.
They enter this weekend’s ODI on the back of a battle hardened victory from their just concluded tri-nations home one-day tournament in which they played host to 2011 World Cup finalist; India and Sri Lanka.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the West Indies lost yet another one-day series just before Christmas in India 4-1. What is woorying about that defeat is that it means the regional side is encroaching on four years since they last triumphed in an extended competition of fixtures home or away against a top eight nation since they defeated Mahela Jaywardene’s Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three match home series in 2008.
Players to watch –
West Indies
For the West Indies, the performances of three compatriots from the Twin Island Republic are important to any success the team may have.
Much maligned captain Darren Sammy’s presence in any West Indies team is constantly criticized by most of the erudite cricket pundits in the region during discussions of the balance of the best possible West Indies XI. During the one-day series in India Sammy averaged a woeful 12 with the bat batting at number eight and took a single wicket in five games at a draconian average of 135.
With the return of Dwayne Bravo to the team along with rising all-round star Andre Russell, in a perfect world Sammy would not play since tactically, the two are clearly better all-rounders than he is.
Further struggles from Sammy and the Clyde Butts led selection panel will have to wield the axe on the Windward Islands man.
With Chris Gayle continuing to be overlooked to the dismay of the millions of ardent West Indian fans and Shivnarine Chanderpaul not called up as a stop gap measure to open the batting given the injury to Lendl Simmons – Kieron “The Beast” Pollard emerges as the pivotal figure in the West Indies batting line-up.
Pollard, who gained global notoriety as a globetrotting Twenty20 ball beater due to his exploits in various T20 tournaments around the world – scored his maiden one-day century in the maroon colours during the last one-day fixture of that Indian tour.
West Indian fans will hope he builds on that during this one-day series, while many of the Australia players who would be well au fait with him by either playing alongside or against him in the BigBash league – will be seeking to subdue him.
That India tour was also a turning point for Darren Bravo as he has finally convinced some skeptical fans in the Caribbean that he is on the way to living up to the somewhat burdensome comparison he has had with countryman and retired West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara.
Legendary former Australia captain Steve Waugh and Lara himself are on record in recent months tipping the 23-yeard old for greatness.
Finally, the ever impressive rise of the latest the latest off-spin/doosra conjurer, Sunil Narine makes him a pivotal armor in the Windies bowling attack.
Starting from his efforts on the World stage for Trinidad and Tobago in the Nokia Champions League last October, he restricted the Indian batsmen in two of the three games during that one-days series and in general has mesmerized regional batsmen over the past five months leading captain Sammy to state he currently is the best bowler in the Caribbean at the moment.
Australian batsmen historically are known to be vulnerable to good off-spin bowling (Lance Gibbs 1960/61, Jim Laker 1956, Harbhajan Singh 2000/01, Saeed Ajmal 2009 are examples) and without their best player of spin captain Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting now axed from one-day internationals – this may be an area where potentially the West Indies via Narine can target.
Players to watch –
Australia
If there any batsman in the World that can rival Chris Gayle for destructive batting – it is the diminutive little opener David Warner. He enters the one-day series on the back of two hundreds in his last three one-day matches and with the Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards absent from the West Indies attack due to injury and the selectors resting Edwards from one-day cricket currently – the fast bowlers in the squad such as Kemar Roach, Russell and the recalled Tino Best will have their work cut out in curtailing the shot gun little player over the next few weeks.
With various other senior and talented young bowlers such as Ryan Harris, Doug Bollinger and Patrick Cummins not on this tour – the 35-year old Brett Lee is one of few members of the Australian squad along with captain Shane Watson, the Hussey brothers and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin who have experience of playing in the region at the international level.
So Lee’s expertise of his previous visits here in 2003 and 2008 will be a key in guiding a highly talented Australian attack that is almost alien to Caribbean conditions.
The two young West Indies openers in Johnson Charles and Kieran Powell will surely be tested, by the veteran Lee who, with 369 victims, is seventh in all-time list of one-day international wicket-takers.
Compared to the rest of his team-mates who have been engaged in nonstop cricket since last August, captain and talismanic all-rounder Shane Watson missed a large quota of his country’s fixtures due to injury and he only recently returned during the back end of the Commonwealth Bank one-day tri-series.
His relative freshness makes him a serious danger for the West Indies, since his abilities as top-order batsman who can bowl lively medium pace is only comparable in the World game to South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.
Prediction
Australia should come out victorious at the end, but expect the West Indies to sneak a victory along the way, with a few players producing individual brilliance to stun the Australians.
