CANBERRA, Australia (CMC):

West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson said yesterday the Caribbean team needed to make the most of tomorrow's warm-up clash with the Prime Minister's XI, as they prepare to face Australia in a five-match one-day series starting later in the week.

The contest, scheduled for Manuka Oval, is the only tour fixture before West Indies square off with the Aussies starting with a double-header in Perth next Friday and Sunday.

"We're hoping we can hit the ground running. We've just come out of a tournament (Caribbean Twenty20) at home so everyone has been playing cricket and the guys have shown good form," Gibson said.

"We believe we've got a good mix of some young players and some very experienced players."

He added: "This is our one opportunity for preparation and it gives us a good chance to get some practice. We're looking forward to it and we want to entertain the prime minister with a full ground and hopefully we put on a good show.

"But the main aim is to get our preparation right for the one-day series which begins in Perth on Friday."

Last time West Indies faced Australia, they pulled off a thrilling 2-2 tie in a five-match one-day series in the Caribbean last year.

Spectacular triumph

The series sparked an enterprising run by the West Indies, which was capped by their spectacular triumph in the Twenty20 World Cup in October when they beat hosts Sri Lanka in the final.

Though obviously still savouring the thrill of that triumph, Gibson said his team now needed to focus on improving their one-day ranking and doing better in that format.

"We are the T20 World Champions and we are proud of what we achieved in that tournament, but that doesn't put any added pressure on the team. Hopefully with that victory and what we achieved more people come and watch us," Gibson pointed out.

"It's something we have to move on from and think about moving up the ladder in one-day cricket and getting ourselves in the mix with the best teams in the world. We believe we're a top team, but we now have to show it with the way we play."