Aussies ready for hard work

GEORGETOWN: Australia’s cricket captain has said his team would have to work harder for victory in the Caribbean, but that as favourites his teammates would no doubt play well.

Captain Steve Waugh said it was always difficult for teams to triumph in this region, where the facilities differed and the fans stood staunch behind their West Indies players. “We’ve got to work harder. It’s not a place you can just come and just expect to win,” he said, as the visitors prepared for their regional tour including four Test matches and seven One-Day Internationals. “This time we are obviously clear favourites, and ... people expect us to play well and we expect to play well,” he said. The Australians, who arrived on Wednesday night without ace fast bowler Glenn McGrath and middle-order batsman Damien Martyn, opted not to practice on Thursday as planned.

The First Test starts at the Georgetown Cricket Club on April 10, but the Australians will have a three-day warm-up match starting Saturday against Carib Beer XI, a squad including top players except those from Jamaica and Barbados, who are playing in the regional Carib Beer finals. The Aussies are going up against a West Indies squad under new captain Brian Lara and are eager to reclaim the No. 1 position on the International Cricket Council’s rankings. The West Indies was slaughtered by Australia 5-0 in Australia two years ago.