Aus, WI give chance to newer faces

With the inclusion of quite a few younger players, Australia and West Indies seem to be geared up for the five-match one day series which is scheduled to begin at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex at St Vincent on Tuesday.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle, who has not completely recuperated from a groin injury, seemed eager to experiment with newer combinations and options since some of the players are nursing various injuries.

Vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has a groin strain whereas Shivnarine Chandepaul is suffering from a sore calf. Moreover, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin is nursing a stiff neck.

Xavier Marshall, Keiron Pollard, Sulieman Benn, Darren Sammy are some of the players who will be looking forward to gaining more experience. Andre Fletcher is the uncapped player who has been included in the squad.

Meanwhile, in the Australian camp, Andrew Symonds is likely to be excluded for the opening game due to injury concerns about his back. It is for the first time that he had a back complaint. Pacer Brett Lee is also likely to be rested. Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who did not feature in the Twenty20 game, will be playing.

Shaun Marsh, who shone with the bat in the recently concluded Twenty20 tournament of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), is likely to make his ODI debut in the match. The southpaw and Shane Watson, another IPL star, are the probable openers to replace retired Adam Gilchrist and injured Matthew Hayden. Watson put up a good show in the warm-up game on Saturday as he scored 95 off 85.

Australia defeated a competitive West Indies 2-0 in the Test series and the hosts won the one-off Twenty20 international on Friday. If the Australian team seals a victory at St Vincent, they will earn back the coveted top rank in the one-day standings from South Africa.