Youthful West Indies face tough task in Australia

MELBOURNE—A youthful but full-strength West Indies side arrived in Australia on Thursday to begin their three-test tour against a team that appears to have recovered from the disappointment of losing the Ashes.
Starting the series as huge underdogs, coach Bennett King is confident his side can begin the long task of rebuilding the reputation of a team that was once the finest in world cricket.
“I think it’s more experience we’re probably lacking,” King told reporters when they arrived in Brisbane on Thursday.
“Eleven of the players are 25 and under. There’s only two that are over 30 and they’re our most experienced players.
“(But) the players to a man, they’re really dedicated and they work hard and I’ve been really happy with the progressions that have been made to date”.
King’s task will be a tough one against Australia, who were stung by criticism from local media and fans after they lost the Ashes to England for the first time in 16 years.
The criticism motivated the Australians to a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of the ICC World XI side in one-day internationals in Melbourne before a crushing 210-run victory in the one-off super series test match in Sydney.
West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul can take heart from the fact that he will lead a full-strength side after a protracted dispute between their board and players union over sponsorship and personal endorsement contracts was settled.
Missing 10 leading players because of the disagreement, West Indies were beaten 2-0 by Sri Lanka in a mid-year test series and won just one of four one-day internationals.
While Brian Lara, who missed the Sri Lankan tour, has returned to the squad, his failure against the world champions while playing for the World XI must be of concern.
Lara, who is only 315 runs away from surpassing Allan Border’s test world record of 11,174 runs, scored just 41 runs in the super series test.
He also totaled a measly five runs in the three one-dayers with scores of 0, 5 and 0, though King said he expected the 36-year-old to find his form again.
“Hopefully he’s saving them (runs) all up for us against Australia,” King said.
“I think he’s copped some pretty harsh criticism in the press and people forget what he’s done.
“He’s one innings away from being the class player again that we all know that he is”.
Team: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Captain), Tino Best, Dwyane Bravo, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.—Agencies

King tips Lara comeback after Super Series flop

BRISBANE (Australia)—West Indies coach Bennett King said he expected out-of-form batsman Brian Lara’s class to shine through in the upcoming Test series against Australia.
Lara scored only 56 runs in five innings during the recently completed Super Series, when a World XI was thrashed by Australia in three one day internationals and a Test match.
But King was hopeful Lara would get among the runs playing for his national team, rather than the International Cricket Council’s much-criticised collection of superstars.
“Hopefully he’s saving them all up for us against Australia,” King told reporters on Thursday after arriving in Australia for the three-Test series.
“I think he’s copped some pretty harsh criticism in the press and people forget what he’s done — he’s one innings away from being the class player again that we all know that he is”.
Lara holds the record for the highest Test score, 400 not out against England, and is only 315 runs behind former Australian captain Allan Border’s record of 11,174 runs scored in Test cricket.
The 36-year-old is expected to be a mainstay in a side King admits lacks experience.
“Eleven of the players are 25 and under, there’s only two that are over 30 and they’re our most experienced players,” he said.
“(But) the players to a man, they’re really dedicated and they work hard and I’ve been really happy with the progressions that have been made to date”.
The first Test of the tour starts on November 3 in Brisbane.
The West Indies has brought a full strength team to Australia after a sponsorship dispute resulted in a second-string side being sent to Sri Lanka last July where they lost two Tests.—Agencies