Tony BeccaTHE West Indies take on Australia in the first Test of their five-match series at Brisbane's Woolloongabba tonight with the odds of victory heavily against them.
The odds are against them for four reasons - their record away from home, their poor start since arriving in Australia, although the emphasis is on their batting, their poor performance with bat and ball and in the field, and because they are up against the best in the business.
In their past 15 matches away from home - three in Pakistan, five in South Africa, two in New Zealand and five in England, the West Indies have lost 3-0, 5-0, 2-0 and 3-1 for an embarrassing count of one victory and 13 losses; they have lost both first-class matches since arriving in Australia - one by seven wickets and one by an innings and 63 runs; their scores have been 132 and 293, 167 and 114; they have dropped a number of catches; and Western Australia and the bottom-placed, below full strength Victoria have enjoyed themselves with scores of 358 and 70 for three, and 344 for seven declared after sailing along at 329 for three.
With such a record no one can deny that Australia are the overwhelming favourites.
As bad as it appears, however, with a little luck the West Indies can surprise - not only because the history of sport is filled with underdogs coming out on top but also because in batsman Brian Lara and fast bowler Courtney Walsh they have two players capable of stamping their class on the proceedings, and also, despite their performances to date 'Down Under', in Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sherwin Campbell and captain James Adams they possess three experienced batsmen who have performed and who could step up and perform.
On top of that, Ramnaresh Sarwan is a gifted batsman, despite his in ability to score runs, Darren Ganga looks a good player and could surprise, and lest it be forgotten, Wavell Hinds was good enough to punish the Pakistani attack of fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and spin bowlers Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq during a brilliant century just a few months ago.
It should also be remembered the Aussies will be without master legspinner Shane Warne and pace bowler Jason Gillespie for this opening Test.
Based on the performance of their batsmen against Western Australia and especially against Victoria it may not matter, but the absence of Warne and Gillespie has left Australia's attack weaker than expected and there is the possibility it could be a real blessing for the West Indies.
The possibility is that it could affect the Aussies psychologically while lifting the confidence of the Windies and if that happens, if Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee fail to slice off the top of the batting early, if Lara and Chanderpaul are still around after the big pacers take their sweaters after their opening spell, the West Indies batsmen could come into their own.
A good Test match for the West Indies batsmen would be good enough for their fans - win lose or draw. As unlikely as it appears, however, although it would be the surprise of surprise, a good Test match for the batsmen, especially if they bat first, could end up a good Test match for the West Indies.
By all logic, Australia should be one up when the Test match is over. If the West Indies bat first and do well, however, if Walsh picks up a couple early wickets and inspires his colleagues, it would be interesting to see how the mighty Australia deal with it.
As the West Indies found out in 1971 when they lost to an Indian team which looked so poor at the start of the tour that it was described in some quarters as no better than a club side, pressure, especially pressure coming from underdogs, is not easy to deal with.
