West Indies out to regain respect

December 10-14, 2015
Start time 1030 local (2330 GMT)

From the pink ball, big crowds and a sense of excitement to the red ball, fewer spectators and a sense of trepidation. Such is the shift in the Test landscape in Australia over the past fortnight. The inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand lasted only three days but provided plenty of reasons to watch, not only for the novelty value but for the close contest and tight finish. Now, Australia host West Indies for three Tests and the interest level from the Australian public has fallen away significantly, not helped by West Indies' 10-wicket loss to a Cricket Australia XI full of rookies in their only tour match in Brisbane. Ticket prices have been slashed but there are still concerns that the stands at Bellerive Oval will be sparsely populated, especially given the first two days of the Test are weekdays.

It is into this environment that Jason Holder and his squad arrive. Their task is enormous. He knows it. His team knows it. The Australians know it. For more than 20 years Australia have held the Frank Worrell Trophy, and West Indies' chances of regaining it have rarely been poorer than this. When the teams met in the Caribbean earlier this year, Australia won 2-0. Now Australia have the home advantage. West Indies have not won a single Test match away from home against anyone but Bangladesh in nearly eight years. They have an attack capable of causing trouble, but only three of their batsmen have averaged over 30 in the past year - and none over 40. At least they have their coach back, Phil Simmons having been reinstated after his suspension in September for criticising a squad selection. Even so, it seems the best West Indies can hope for in this series is to regain some respect rather than the trophy.

Australia are coming off a 2-0 victory over New Zealand but the series was closer than that scoreline suggests, and the result largely reflected New Zealand's awful start in Brisbane. There are personnel changes, too. Mitchell Starc is out of this series due to his foot injury while Usman Khawaja, who missed the Adelaide Test with a hamstring problem, is again sidelined in Hobart. James Pattinson returns for his first Test in 18 months and Shaun Marsh is hoping to build on his encouraging performance in Adelaide, but they are among a number of Australians still trying to establish themselves in this Test team. And given the low expectations being placed on West Indies, the pressure is all on Steven Smith's developing side not to stumble.

Australia: WDWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

 West Indies: LLLLW

James Pattinson's Test credentials are well established, but he returns to the side for the first time since March last year with a tweaked action and with just a steady trickle of wickets behind him rather than a raging current. Serious back injuries have been his major problem, and he has spent part of his time off studying for a career in the construction industry while also training greyhounds. Now he is firmly back in the spotlight, and it remains to be seen whether his speed and swing will be close to his pre-injury levels.

His career is only 10 Tests old, but captain Jason Holder has already shown what an important player he is in this West Indies outfit. He is in the team as a bowler and while he lacks the pace of Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach, he is accurate and economical, and with the bat he has often had to rescue his team from his lower-order position. Despite batting at No.7 or 8 through his Test career Holder has top-scored three times from 18 innings and has a Test century to his name, as well as 82 not out against Australia in Jamaica last year. At 24, Holder is already leading from the front.

Pattinson in for Starc is Australia's only change, with Nathan Coulter-Nile confirmed as 12th man. There will also be no alteration to the batting order, with Mitchell Marsh remaining at No.6 and Peter Nevill at No.7.

Australia 1 Joe Burns, 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Adam Voges, 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 James Pattinson, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon

Carlos Brathwaite impressed during the tour match in Brisbane and could be in line for a Test debut, which would likely mean Shannon Gabriel would miss out. Shai Hope is yet to score a half-century in his five-Test career and Rajendra Chandrika played ahead of him in the warm-up match; whichever opener joins Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies will need them to put a high price on their wicket.

West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Shai Hope/Rajendra Chandrika, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Devendra Bishoo.

The West Indies fast bowlers were excited to see the green pitch a few days out from the Test but the likelihood is that by the morning of the match they will be greeted by a better wicket for batting. There could be some showers over the course of the game, with top temperatures in the low 20s.

"I think he's played enough. He's been bowling really well in the nets and he sees this as an opportunity. I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes."
Steven Smith on the returning James Pattinson

"Consistency is the key here in Australia…hitting the areas as much as possible has always been the way in Australia. As a fast bowler you enjoy the conditions over here."
Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler