The first Test starts today at Sabina Park.

Sarwan will captain the West Indies. Gayle and Matthew Hayden are injured.

4-301 at stumps. Still some encouraging signs for the Windies, though. Edwards got the early breakthroughs, Sammy and Bravo were tight and the selectors had the good sense to play Jaggernaught. If Taylor comes back in for Powell in the next Test then I'd say that the West Indian attack is as strong as it can possibly be, and with all of the bowlers under 25 that's an encouraging thought.

Ponting 158

Looks like the form slump is over

What's interesting is the difference between the classy performance of Ponting and the scratchy performance of the rest: Australia should count themselves lucky that the WI attack is so weak, because without Clarke the batting (aside from Ponting) looks distinctly ordinary on a sporting wicket.

How the Aussies must long for Cook, Vaughan, Bell and Pietersen once the bounce is more interesting...

Bit harsh

Only the two openers Jaques (9) & Katich (12) failed, Hussey got a half century and Hodge is not out 53.
Hussey mentioned in the telecast wrap up, that he struggled for fluency during his innings and that the pitch was a bit uneven.

Whether the West Indies attack is any weaker than the New Zealand attack would be debatable. I think the Windies biggest issue will be its batting, 301 with out the additional runs the 6 wickets in hand will produce is probably somewhere around their batting capabilities.

Now that he's facing an ordinary attack, yes... funny that.

I'm sure they are all pretty reasonable Test batsmen: I wasn't suggesting they were poor. What stands out, however, is Ponting's fluency: the others can all do it when the pitch is single-paced, the bounce is true and so on (as almost always in Australia)... but on a more sporting wicket that actually offers the bowler something to work with, Ponting can still do it.So it should be, and so every pitch should be! As I understand, it the pitch wasn't especially quick... and whilst Bravo is not a speedster, the following suggests batting was no more difficult than it should be on a day 1 pitch:Sounds like Test batting at its best, though it's going to be interesting to see what the Aussie bowlers and WI batsmen manage!

Ponting has struggled against England in England, and India both home and away, so this comment does have some merit. But he has pasted some very fine fine attacks in trying conditions too.........

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The thought police are everywhere..............

Whatever batting lineup was chosen you fancied them to make runs against that attack,it is the bowling i am waiting to see as it is the first time the Aussies have played abroad since McGrath and Warne retired.You couldn't really ask for better opposition to start with (apart from the whipping boys Bangladesh) so you would imagine they will do ok,whether they could bowl the good sides out away from home remains to be seen.

Well first up Lee was wayward and Johnson bowled up a pile of rubbish. Clark or as the Aussie commentators pronounce his name, Claahck is bowling his usual wicket to wicket accurate stuff, but took the first wicket with a slice of good fortune - the ball rolling on to the stumps.

What I'd really like to see is how the Aussie bowling attack fares when Claahck is injured.

The WI batsmen seem to coping reasonably well.

What I've been most impressed about this game is the WI fielding, it's been nothing short of excellent.