Published: Dec 05, 2015, 08:27 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 05, 2015, 08:27 AM (IST)
West Indies lost their warm-up for next week’s opening Test against Australia with a resounding 10-wicket defeat to the Cricket Australia XI (CA XI) in Brisbane on Saturday. The tourists managed to avoid an innings defeat with skipper Jason Holder scoring 65 to leave the home side just 10 runs to win. CA XI openers Tim Paine (6) and Jake Carder (7) needed just 17 balls to get the required runs and inflict a humiliating defeat on the West Indies. It comes just five days before the opening Test against Australia in Hobart and raises further concerns that the West Indies will not be competitive in the coming three-Test series.
The Windies are a pale imitation of their glory days a quarter of a century ago and have been written off by the pundits heading into the Test series. The once-formidable West Indies last won a Test in Australia in 1997 and last won a series here in 1992-93. The second-ranked Australians are again expected to be too strong for the eighth-rated West Indies in the series, starting in Hobart on December 10.
The West Indies squad for the upcoming Tests, which was announced on November 11, was once again devoid of big names such as Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. The likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Jomel Warrican, Rajendra Chandrika and Devendra Bishoo were some of the players retained in the side following a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka, where West Indies were whitewashed 0-2 and 0-3 in the Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI) respectively. Australia, on the other hand, have announced their squad for the first Test which will be captained by Steven Smith and does not feature pace spearhead Mitchell Starc. READ: Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo missing from West Indies squad for Australia tour
