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The glaring disparity between the talents of the two nations of possibly the highest cricketing pedigree in the world was there for all to see in the 1st Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy. This obnoxious mismatch will, in all probability, stand out even more starkly in the 2nd test match at Adelaide. An Australia-West Indies test match, that would have been an exhibition of the sport at the highest level three decades ago, has sadly degenerated to a no-contest, with the latest episode turning out to be a mere walkover for the hosts, inside three days.

The Adelaide Oval, which will stage the second test, is traditionally renowned for its flat track that generally allows scores in excess of 400 and even 500 in the first innings of both sides. It has been a happy hunting ground for the Aussies, where, in the last decade, in 10 matches, no team apart from India has managed to avoid defeat. Unless the West Indian batting pulls its act together, another Aussie victory looms. They definitely would want to, and would expect to, wrap up the series here itself and not wait for Perth.

Ricky Ponting showed uncharacteristic aggression and the ruthlessness of old with, not one, but two very good tactical decisions. They show the confidence of the Aussies, their desperation to put the Ashes defeat behind them, and their endeavor to climb up the test rankings where they have slipped to a lowly fourth. Firstly, he declared in the first innings, which in itself is not a rare occurrence. But considering their score was just 480, which is respectable at best, and not massive by any yardstick, is a measure of his confidence in his team's bowling, and probably in the opposition's lack of application as well. Second, he, for only the third time in his career as captain, enforced the follow-on, confident that the move would get his team an extra couple of days off.

In spite of posting a total that allowed them the luxury of batting only once, the Aussies won't be satisfied with their batting performance. Every batsman, barring Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, got good starts but failed to capitalize and none reached three figures. Simon Katich came closest with 92, and Ponting, Hussey, North and Hauritz all posted half centuries. Watson, after his naught, would be under pressure to perform in the opening slot, because there is a case for the inclusion of one of the two New South Welsh Phils, Hughes and Jaques. Despite his good showing in the Ashes, where he scored three fifties in five innings, it is no secret that he does not figure in the Australian test scheme of things in the long term as an opener. Eventually, he, as Ponting himself has commented, would be looked at only as a lower-middle order player who can bowl 15-odd overs a day. Yet again he fell to the lbw, showing once more his susceptibility to the ball coming in. He is a naturally aggressive player, who, like Adam Gilchrist before him, is good enough to be successful as an opener in ODIs and must go lower down at No.7 in tests. Very few outrightly aggressive players have been successful test match openers, Sehwag, and more recently Dilshan, being the exceptions. However, given the Australian mindset, he just might be in for the long haul at the opening slot, trying to fill the amazingly large shoes of another aggressive behemoth, Matthew Hayden.

Nathan Hauritz had a great outing with both bat and ball, scoring his maiden test fifty and returning with match figures of 5/57. He would be coming full circle here at Adelaide as it was here that his test career was revived with a surprise call-up against New Zealand last summer. Now he figures prominently in the Australian scheme of things, especially after the decision to drop him in the final Ashes test at the Oval in London did not pay off. Moreover, the Adelaide track being slower than the one at the Gabba, and expected to turn late into the match, he would be quite a handful for the West Indians, who, let's say, aren't the best players of spin. He has now revealed that he would unveil his version of the ‘doosra' in the final match at Perth.

Also, bearing fond memories of Adelaide would be Brad Haddin, who cracked his maiden ton in emphatic fashion last time round at the Oval. His 169 was typical Haddin, full of aggression and, rather un-test-match-like, especially with Clarke's composed 110 as the background.

Australia would be mighty pleased with their bowling lineup as well, with the trio of Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, and Mitchell Johnson gelling well in the absence of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark. Johnson though would be disappointed not to be given the new ball at the Gabba, coming in first change from Siddle's end. However he would probably get it back, with Hilfenhaus detecting soreness in his knee tendon and out of the second test. His Man-of-the-match-winning services at Brisbane would be sorely missed in the rest of the series.

From the Caribbean point of view, it is high time they abandoned the stance that since they are ranked at the bottom, they have nothing to lose and hence they wouldn't be under pressure. It hasn't worked for them thus far, and is unlikely to. They must take some responsibility and be held accountable for their lacklustre performances. However, that's unlikely as long as the poster-boy of T20, the king of bling, Chris ‘the-death-of-test-cricket-wouldn't-be-so-sad' Gayle remains their captain. It was truly refreshing to see the youngster Adrian Barath, after his sublime hundred on debut, say that tests would remain top priority. His was a remarkable innings, with all the panache and fluency of the man who had tipped him for great things as an 11-year-old, the Caribbean maestro Brian Lara himself. His innings put to shame all his more illustrious teammates and he ended up the top scorer on both sides.

With Ramnaresh Sarwan expected to come back from his back injury, the top and middle order, along with the precocious talent of Barath, do not look bad on paper at all. In fact, all of them had decent outings in the practice game against the Queenslanders. With a little bit of application, they might be able to stick around on the batsman-friendly surface in Adelaide, and manage a draw. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with his pair of 2s, slipped from 4 to 8 in the world rankings, and his importance as the backbone of the side cannot be stressed enough. It is amazing how the West Indians manage to consistently stay bottom despite Chanderpaul being perennially among the top 10 in the world in tests..

The bowling, though, remains a huge concern. Apart from Kemar Roach in patches, no one made the slightest of an impression. With Jerome Taylor now joining the injured list with a lower back strain, it looks highly unlikely that this attack would be able to pick up 20 wickets, even with considerable help from the opposition batsmen. Dwayne Bravo would be forced to shoulder more responsibility now that either Darren Sammy or Gavin Tonge, who ripped apart Pakistan with 4/25 in the recent Champions Trophy, would replace Taylor. West Indies had already lost to injury their spearhead Fidel Edwards well before the start of the series.

The other change expected is, with Sarwan probably fit, Travis Dowlin making way for him at the No.3 slot. However, as Dowlin was the only one surviving over a 100 balls in their first innings, it is possible that he may be retained and Brendan Nash, the former Queenslander, be dropped. Nash's homecoming was not too sweet, with scores of 18 and 7, though he did manage once to cut his former housemate Johnson to the point boundary. The Australians would in all probability be making just the one change, Doug Bollinger coming in for the injured Hilfenhaus.

The Adelaide pitch is likely to be quite flat, conducive to batting, but get slower and take turn as the match progresses. It last rained on Sunday, and may shower lightly on the eve of the match. Days 1, 2 and 3 would be part-cloud, part-sun, but thunderstorms are expected on the 4th day, though if Australia are to repeat their Brisbane performance, the match would be done and dusted by then.

We can only hope the West Indies show some spine, some character, the way Adrian Barath did amid the ruins of his teammates in the first test. Only then can this series be termed a contest.

Likely teams:

Australia: Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger.
West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sulieman Benn, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Gavin Tonge.

File Photograph Copyright: Roy Allen