By CricketCountry Satff
The five-match ODI series between hosts West Indies and Australia gets underway in a small town of the St Vincent island, Arnos Vale. Captain Darren Sammy will be upbeat knowing that West Indies have won 17 out of the last 20 ODIs at this venue.
Published: Mar 16, 2012, 07:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 16, 2012, 07:04 PM (IST)
The performance of Darren Sammy-led West Indies in the last few ODIs hasn’t exactly been encouraging © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Satff
Kingstown, St Vincent: Mar 16, 2012
The five-match ODI series between hosts West Indies and Australia gets underway in a small town of the St Vincent island, Arnos Vale. Captain Darren Sammy will be upbeat knowing that West Indies have won 17 out of the last 20 ODIs at this venue.
But if the skipper has a piece of stat to rev him up, there are few others which might give him enough reason for worry. In the 14 ODIs played between these two sides since 2006, 13 have been won by Australia with one game being washed out. Also, West Indies lost the last ODI series they played at home, against India, by a margin of 3-2.
While Australia, which is arguably the best ODI side in the world right now, the main thing working in their favor is consistency. This is the second away tour for new skipper Michael Clarke and though he will miss the ODIs on account of an injury, the progress of the side will be of paramount interest to him. Australia are in a phase of rebuilding and Clarke’s deputy, Shane Watson, has already shown that he has his own style of leading the side. For the first time, he will get 5 ODIs at a stretch and he will want to leave his mark on the mind of the selectors.
As far as the bowling department is concerned, the experience of Brett Lee will come in handy while the West Indies batsmen might experience difficulties against the disciplined Ben Hilfenhaus. James Pattinson, who was a bit off-key in the last few games of the CB series, might want to improve his credentials on his first overseas tour.
Earlier, Australia captain Shane Watson won the toss and elected to bat against West Indies.
Teams:
West Indies: Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Carlton Baugh (wk), Darren Sammy (c), Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach.
Australia: David Warner, Shane Watson (c), Peter Forrest, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, George Bailey, Matthew Wade (wk), Daniel Christian, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.
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