Image Credit- AP
It was a day that can be classified as a mixed bag for
the West Indies side in their warm-up game vs a Cricket Australia XI side that
was made up entirely of players with no BBL contracts. While the Windies finished
the day on 251/8, they will rue the missed opportunities of making a
substantial score after 3 of their batsmen made scores of 50 and above.
Pacers Liam Haskett and Jake Nisbet took 3 and 2
wickets apiece, while Victoria tweaker Doug Warren took 2 scalps. Between the
three wicket-takers, they have an experience of a a combined total of barely 9
First-class matches.
Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite continued his very
impressive run Down Under by scoring a typically patient 52, while newcomers
Austin Greaves and Kavem Hodge enhanced their chances of a callup by scoring 62
and 52 runs respectively.
However, apart from the positive performance from the
two newcomers, there re certain areas that will definitely ring alarm bells for
the visitors. Alick Athanaze and Kirk McKenzie were both dismissed by bouncers,
which might not go unnoticed by the keen-eyed Aussie pace attack.
After Hodge and Greaves had taken the tourists to 223
for 4, there was another 4 for 8 collapse later in the day around the second
new ball.
As the once-proud Caribbean team prepares for the
two-Test series, there are legitimate worries about their performance. In their
15-man team, they have seven players without a cap, and they will start at
least three rookies in the opening Test in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Former captain Jason Holder chose not to participate
in the tour before it started in order to play in the ILT20, while all-around
player Kyle Mayers is representing Durban in the IPL-sponsored SA20.
With just five players from that tour returning, the
West Indies were soundly defeated in two Test matches played in Australia last
summer.