(Agence France-Presse) Skipper Brian Lara has urged his top-order batsmen to apply themselves in the first 15 overs and give the West Indies the chance of stopping the Australian juggernaut in the Caribbean one-day cricket series.
The World Cup champions extended their unbeaten One-day International sequence to 20 games with a 25-run win over the West Indies in St Lucia last Wednesday and will wrap up the seven-match series with victory in either of this weekend's matches in Trinidad.
The Windies have lost their last 10 ODIs against Australia, but Lara knows what needs to be done if his team is not to play second-fiddle again to Ricky Ponting's high-rolling squad.
"In two of the three matches we lost the match in the first 15 overs when we were batting, losing that amount of wickets, so us batters up front need to apply ourselves a lot better," Lara said yesterday.
"We should not be losing wickets during that period."
Lara, master batsman that he is, has also to shoulder the blame with poor scores in the opening three matches of 23, 5 and 4.
"Of course, they've dominated at least two of the three matches so far and we have to find a way to turn things around," he said. "We've got four matches ahead of us."
Australia's strong bowling attack has dominated the Windies, even after they stacked their team with nine batsman in the last match, yet still went under.
Ponting said his team's winning sequence would inevitably end, but hopefully not this weekend in Trinidad as the Australians attempt to wrap up the series.
"We're playing well, if we stick to the basics and keep doing them well we know we are going to be competitive in most games, so that's what we are focusing on," he said.
The Australians remain unbeaten in One-day Internationals since losing to Sri Lanka by 79 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 9 this year.
Since then Australia's dominance has taken in the World Cup in southern Africa when they beat all comers, culminating in their 125-run demolition of India in the final in Johannesburg on March 23.
With compacency increasingly becoming a threat to the all-conquering Australians, team coach John Buchanan has warned his players not to even contemplate a clean sweep of the seven-game series.
"Obviously, we realise it's possible but as soon as you start thinking about it, we'll come away from Trinidad 3-2," Buchanan said on Friday.
Youngster Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds are likely to play in both matches in Trinidad after starring roles in Australia's victory on Wednesday.
They each scored 75, and with senior batsman Darren Lehmann still troubled by a calf muscle injury and opener Matthew Hayden likely to be rested, there's a chance for 22-year-old Clarke to bat on this weekend.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and fast bowler Brett Lee are expected to return after they were rested in St Lucia.
Teams: West Indies (from): Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara (captain), Ricardo Powell, Carlton Baugh, Ridley Jacobs, Omari Banks, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Corey Collymore, David Bernard, Ryan Hurley.
Australia (from): Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting (captain), Jimmy Maher, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Ian Harvey, Andrew Bichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Hauritz.