Windies Looking to Win the Battle

After Australia won the test series many thought they would, one might forgiven for thinking they did it easily and without competition, especially after the first Test. But the Windies battled back and with a bit of luck might have won a test or two.

Now they have come back with their ODI squad to resume the final battle against the Aussies. But can they deliver?

They’re missing talismanic players in Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. But they’ve got arguably the biggest hitter the game has ever seen, and certainly their most important player in captain, Chris Gayle.

The way he single-handedly destroyed the PMXI days ago was a testament to ‘Mr. Cool’ as he is now famously dubbed. But words don’t lie.

Proving he is under absolutely no pressure coming into this series, the Jamaican provided a bold statement to the media when asked if he was intimidated by Australia.

“It’s not (intimidating), to be honest with you,”

“We’re going to beat them 4-1, so not to worry.”

How can you not like this man?

There’s no doubt that if he fires the rest of his side will as well, so bring it on I say!

Having not lost a game all summer, Australia should be confident. Yet, we saw just what under-estimating your opponents can do in the Twenty20 International against Pakistan. The visitors were down on confidence, had their heads down and were out of luck. But they were also and still are T20 champions of the world.

They were unlucky to lose in the end, but the Australians got a warning, so there is no reason as to why they should expect another easy series here.

There will be a few players looking to push on and establish themselves in this series, especially on the bowling front. Guys like Ryan Harris and Clint McKay were impressive against Pakistan, but can they keep their positions?

Talking about bowlers, young Kemar Roach is back and will be again looking to torment Ricky Ponting like he did in the test series, so there will be a keen eye out on his performance.

The other player that seems to have slipped under the radar for the Windies is the explosive Kieron Pollard. Sure, he is inexperienced, but he can definitely hit the ball, and far at that.

All said it should be a highly entertaining series. The two sides had plenty to say to each other during the tests, so hopefully we get a bit more today!

Finally, sorry Chris, I’m going for a 3-2 series win for Australia! I hope you prove me wrong!

The first ODI begins at 2.25pm AEDT at the MCG.