Australia vs. West Indies, 1st Test: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
After seeing off New Zealand recently, Australia will look to continue their successful summer of Test cricket against an inexperienced and fragile-looking West Indies team, which is missing most of its big names.
However, do reports of a bowler-friendly green top potentially being used for the series opener at Hobart, Australia, give the visiting Caribbean Islanders a slight chance?
Read on to see how the two sides are shaping up ahead of this intriguing clash.
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Date: Thursday, December 10, 2015
Time: 10:30 a.m. local (23:30 p.m. GMT)
Venue: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia
Live Stream and TV Info: Channel Nine (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Sky Sports 2 (UK), Super Sport (South Africa), Now TV (subscription required)
Weather: According to the BBC's weather department, overcast skies throughout are expected with the possibility of showers on day two and day five, keeping the groundsmen on their toes.
Overview
Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy are just a few of the Caribbean-born stars who will be performing Down Under over the next few weeks.
Unfortunately for the West Indies Test team, these stellar names will be playing Twenty20 cricket in the Big Bash League instead of representing their country in this Test series.
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.
"West Indies fall to embarrassing loss in only tour match before Australia Tests https://t.co/PWwUot3mI8 via @guardian_sport
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 5, 2015"
What's more, the Windies' recent record, which has seen them lose six of their last eight Tests, doesn't exactly inspire confidence, either.
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?
If they are to have any chance, then their experienced core of Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach are going to have to play out of their skins.
Equally, highly rated but still raw skipper Jason Holder needs to produce his best series to date, and promising youngsters like Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite will have to step up.
One thing that does give the Windies hope, however, is the recent depletion of the Australian bowling ranks.
With "The Mitchell Brothers," Messrs Johnson and Starc, missing through retirement and injury, respectively, the Baggy Greens' attack doesn't appear quite as intimidating.
Does it?
Appearances can, of course, be deceiving, as Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and recent ICC Test XI of the Year bowler Josh Hazlewood have more than 300 Test wickets between them.
Things are much more settled with the bat for the hosts, who plundered two 500-plus first innings and eight tons against a strong Kiwi side.
Steven Smith and David Warner remain modern-day run machines, while Adam Voges and Joe Burns also appear to be in fine fettle.
The state of Caribbean cricket has been a hot topic of late, even reducing the legendary Gary Sobers to tears at a recent news conference in Sri Lanka, and this series could be a good indicator of how good or bad things actually are.
Test form (latest left-to-right)
Australia: WDWWLLWL
West Indies: LLLLWLDL
Squads
Australia
Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges. Standby player: Scott Boland.
West Indies
Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite (vc), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajindra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican.
Key Players
Australia
Surprisingly, as reported by Laura Jolly of cricket.com.au, David Warner averages just 26.9 against the West Indies, but considering his recent form, these numbers will be on the upward curve. The dangerous opener scores his runs so quickly that, if he gets away to a flier, the pressure will be well and truly on the opposition.
West Indies
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. From 10 Tests, he has taken 19 wickets and averages close to 30 with the bat. Could this series be the tour that he fully arrives on the world stage?
Who will win?
If the West Indies win the toss, bowl first with aggression in helpful conditions and skittle the Aussies for a sub-200 score, then they may have a chance. But, whatever the pitch conditions, it's hard to see the experienced and battle-hardened Baggy Greens missing out here.
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