A youthful but full-strength West Indies side arrived in Australia on Thursday to begin their three-Test tour against a team that appears to have recovered from the disappointment of losing the Ashes.
Starting the series as huge underdogs, coach Bennett King is confident his side can begin the long task of rebuilding the reputation of a team that was once the finest in world cricket.
"I think it's more experience we're probably lacking," King told reporters when they arrived in Brisbane on Thursday.
"Eleven of the players are 25 and under. There's only two that are over 30 and they're our most experienced players.
"(But) the players to a man, they're really dedicated and they work hard and I've been really happy with the progressions that have been made to date."
King's task will be a tough one against Australia, who were stung by criticism from local media and fans after they lost the Ashes to England for the first time in 16 years.
The criticism motivated the Australians to a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of the ICC World XI side in one-day internationals in Melbourne before a crushing 210-run victory in the one-off super series Test match in Sydney.
West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul can take heart from the fact that he will lead a full-strength side after a protracted dispute between their board and players union over sponsorship and personal endorsement contracts was settled.
LARA RETURNS
Missing 10 leading players because of the disagreement, West Indies were beaten 2-0 by Sri Lanka in a mid-year Test series and won just one of four one-day internationals.
While Brian Lara, who missed the Sri Lankan tour, has returned to the squad, his failure against the world champions while playing for the World XI must be of concern.
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He also totaled a measly five runs in the three one-dayers with scores of 0, 5 and 0, though King said he expected the 36-year-old to find his form again.
"Hopefully he's saving them (runs) all up for us against Australia," King said.
"I think he's copped some pretty harsh criticism in the press and people forget what he's done.
"He's one innings away from being the class player again that we all know that he is."
Team: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Tino Best, Dwyane Bravo, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.
