Windies facing whitewash

In the context of a series that is already effectively over with Australia holding a 2-0 lead and retaining the Frank Worrell Trophy, the third and final Test beginning tomorrow (tonight Caribbean time) at the Adelaide Oval would not be expected to generate considerable interest, especially in light of the home side’s comfortable margins of victory in Brisbane and Hobart. However almost 13 years after a masterful and momentous maiden Test hundred in Melbourne captivated the cricketing world, even die-hard Australian fans are quietly hoping that the West Indies’ champion batsman ends a horrendous tour on a high note.           

Yet as much as Lara may deserve more than a touch of good fortune in the wake of three dubious umpiring decisions already at the Gabba and Bellerive Oval, it is really those around him who will effectively determine whether there is any reason to hope for a slowing down of the slide and, eventually, a turnaround sometime in the future that would put West Indies cricket back to the competitive level which everyone with genuine concern for the welfare of the game believes it belongs.

Indeed, with injury and surgery creating opportunities for two other players, the tourists have the chance to show that there is enough quality and commitment in reserve, so putting pressure on established members of the batting order and threatening places that some of the established players may have come to view as their right rather than a treasured privilege.

With Marlon Samuels back in his native Jamaica resting his injured knee and compatriot Chris Gayle convalescing in Melbourne after surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat, the West Indies tour selectors are at least saved from the sometimes futile debate over who should comprise the batting order.

With only what is now a 13-man squad, including five fast bowlers, there really is no choice but to recall Wavell Hinds to partner Devon Smith at the top of the order while Dwayne Smith will have the chance to show that he is more than just an exciting but one-dimensional cricketer capable only of thrilling fielding and catching and spectacular hitting.

While the bowling attack is less straightforward, it may be difficult for head coach Bennett King to alter the combination from the one that played in the Second Test the previous weekend.

Daren Powell bowled poorly in that match, but Jermaine Lawson looked short of work and failed to impress in the first Test before being troubled by injuries again. The only other alternative, Tino Best, has done little, except with his polished lower-order batting, to suggest that he has made any strides forward in developing into a thinking, disciplined pacer. On a pitch that head curator Les Burdett expects will play true to form — a veritable batting paradise over the first three days before deterioration gives the spinners a bigger say in the latter stages — Australia are expected to retain the double wrist-spin attack of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill with Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee sharing the new ball.

As announced earlier in the week, Justin Langer’s recovery from a cracked rib sustained just five days before the First Test forced the home selectors into one tough decision in omitting Michael Clarke and sending Mike Hussey into the middle-order to ensure that the highly successful opening partnership between Langer and Matthew Hayden is resumed.

TEAMS:

AUSTRALIA: (probable) — Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath.

WEST INDIES: (probable) — Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards, Corey Collymore.