Recent Test match results at the famous ground do not favour the West Indies with three defeats in the last four encounters, including Australia’s humiliating lop-sided triumph in 1999 when the regional side capsized for a meagre second innings total of 51.

Lara’s youthful and inexperienced side with an average age of 25, compared to the more experienced Australians, who have just one player in that age bracket, will now be aiming to end the Windies’ two-Test losing streak in T&T.

Consecutive defeats at the hands of South Africa and India in the past two years mean that the West Indies have now lost 14 of their 51 Tests here while winning 17 and drawing 20.

So much has changed in West Indies’ cricket over the past year that of the 11 players who played in the corresponding Test which they lost to India by 37 runs here last year, only Lara, the Guyanese batting duo of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and fast bowler Mervyn Dillon, are back.

VICE-CAPTAINCY
One of the quartet Sarwan, 22, who has been elevated to the vice-captaincy of the side, is returning to competitive cricket for the first time since receiving a painful blow on the helmet during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

That Sarwan has had no serious cricket in the middle, stemmed not so much from the blow by Sri Lankan pacer Dilhara Fernando but a fractured finger he suffered during a pre-match warm-up session with the Guyana team.

The stylist Sarwan, who has shown a weakness to fast, short-pitched bowling and was out hooking twice on this ground against South African in 2001, will be under the microscope again.

He did not fare well against the Aussies on the West Indies' 2000-2001 tour ‘Down Under’ and his mettle will be tested, as he will surely be bombarded with a bout of bouncers from Australian pacers Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.

On the other hand, the West Indies, even though their four fast bowlers captured 18 of the 20 Indian wickets that fell here last year, will be targeting the Australians in an area where they have shown to be slightly vulnerable.

Recognising that five of their first seven batsmen in the Australian batting line-up are left-handers and that No.3 batsman Ricky Ponting is not comfortable against spin bowling, the West Indies have included rookie 20-year-old Anguillan off-spinner Omari Banks in their squad.

BOWLING OPTION
Lara, in welcoming lanky six-footer Banks, who is set to become Anguilla’s first Test cricketer, said he gives the team another bowling option noting the Australians “are very susceptible to good spin”.

But prolific Aussie opener Matthew Hayden, their best batsman against spin bowling, has countered Lara’s assertion by noting “I don’t think they have got a real quality spinner in their side”.

Hayden, out cheaply twice in the Guyana Test, says he is already licking his chops at the prospect of facing a debutant, whose off-breaks, turning away from the Australian left-handers, may prove to be more effective than Marlon Samuels’ flat trundlers.

“Getting to face spin, I think that’s going to be huge. That’s going to ultimately reveal some massive scoring opportunities for me throughout the series,” added the Queenslander.

Hayden and his in-form opening partner Justin Langer, who excelled in the Guyana Test with knocks of 146 and 78 not out, will be looking to give Australia a solid foundation on a surface which according to pitch supervisor Bryan Davis “is more of a seamer’s wicket”.

“The ball will seam around. I don’t expect it to turn much. I’m looking for consistent bounce,” Davis added.

West Indies are expected to field three fast bowlers along with Banks but it is still uncertain whether the fiery uncapped 21-year-old pacer Tino Best, who has been called up as a replacement for the chicken pox-sidelined Jermaine Lawson, will be handed his first Test cap.

Barbadian Best, the leading wicket-taker in the Carib Beer Series with 39 scalps at 18 runs apiece, has an excellent strike rate in his 17 first-class matches, snaring one of his 62 wickets, every 35 balls.

While Best’s pace could create some problems for the Australians, if his line-and-length is not spot-on, he could be cannon fodder for the likes of Hayden, Langer and Ponting.

The Test will also see diminutive 20-year-old Jamaican Carlton Baugh making his debut in place of the experienced Ridley Jacobs, who has been ruled out with a groin injury.

Baugh not only distinguished himself during the Carib Beer Cup when he climaxed a fine season with an unbeaten century against champions Barbados but he also shocked the Aussies with a breathtaking unbeaten 115, studded with 17 fours and three sixes off only 109 balls in the opening tour match.

Significantly, it will be the first time a player from West Indies Under-23 Development ‘B’ team, has been selected for the Test side. Baugh’s belligerent batting and flashy wicket-keeping, will now be scrutinised in the more demanding Test arena against the world’s best exponents.

OUT-OF-SORTS
Whereas the West Indies will be forced to make at least three changes from the defeated first Test team with Sarwan coming in for an out-of-sorts Marlon Samuels, Australia are likely to stay with their winning eleven.

This will maintain their varied five-pronged bowling armory of Lee, Gillespie, Andy Bichel, leg-spinner Stuart McGill and left-armer Brad Hogg.

The West Indies cannot afford such luxury and will be hoping that Chanderpaul, Lara and Daren Ganga, who all hit centuries in the defeat in Georgetown, will continue in this vein with support from new opener Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds and the returning Sarwan.

It will then be up to the four specialist bowlers chosen to capture 20 Australian wickets to force the seventh straight victory on the ground since 1998, and importantly, in the West Indies’ favour this time.

Teams:
West Indies (from) - Brian Lara (captain), Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh, Omari Banks, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Tino Best, Pedro Collins, David Bernard.

Australia (from) Steve Waugh (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Martin Love, Brad Williams, Ashley Noffke, Michael Clarke.