And judging by their disastrous 10-wicket defeat in their only warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI-a team containing six first-class debutants-this has left them looking extremely threadbare.
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“We want to win this series 3-0”.
The West Indies are a shadow of their former glories and are now ranked above only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, winning just four of their last 20 Tests.
He will join Josh Hazlewood, man-of-the-match in the Adelaide day-night Test against New Zealand, and Peter Siddle in the new-ball attack, backed up by all-rounder Mitch Marsh.
They need to do this by April though when the calendar year closes for the International Cricket Council.
The much-discussed Hobart crowd, which was reported to be 5927, witnessed the beginning of what has the makings of a thoroughly one-sided affair as the Australians’ first innings total soared despite the West Indies’ abject over rate in the first two sessions.
Australia’s paceman Josh Hazlewood tosses a pink ball as he gets ready to bowl. “I’m pretty excited to get a go on Thursday”, he said.
As one-sided as day one appeared, it is better for the future of cricket in the Caribbean that such events force true introspection and thought about the game in the region, not only from West Indians but also from the administrators of other, more prosperous nations.
“Being here alone should be more than enough motivation for the players, but having heard all those comments should be ideal motivation for them”.
Jason Holder has shown signs of blossoming into a genuine all-rounder, but despite being the Windies’ captain, the 24-year-old still has plenty to prove.
He will be breathing a little easier – as will Marsh, who had been expected to step aside for Khawaja in Melbourne before finally notching his first ton on home soil and third overall in his 17th Test.
Champion batsman Brian Lara says it is no surprise there is a shrinking pool of youngsters aspiring to play for the West Indies, above all else because current senior players are setting a bad example by chasing cheques in Twenty20 competitions.
That meant opening bowlers Jerome Taylor (0 for 76) and Kemar Roach (0 for 64) bowled just 12 and 11 overs respectively, while Warrican (2 for 111) bowled 22 and part-timer Kraigg Brathwaite (0 for 52) finished with 13.
“We just weren’t disciplined and that put us into this hole”.
The Bellerive wicket had a greenish tinge on the eve of the Test, indicating that the pace bowlers will get some early life out of the pitch.
Australia went to tea at 257/3, with Voges on 100 and Marsh on 42.
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So how are they going to, at the very least, make a game of it against their heavyweight opponents across the forthcoming trio of five-day contests, starting in Tasmania?
