West Indies coach John Dyson (left), captain Ramnaresh Sarwan (centre) and Australian skipper Ricky Ponting share a laugh at yesterday's launch of the Digicel Test series at Sabina Park. The first Test starts tomorrow. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

STAR AUSTRALIAN opener Matthew Hayden has been rated a 50-50 chance to take part in tomorrow's opening Digicel Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park.

At the three-Test series' launch at the ground yesterday, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said a nagging achilles injury had placed the powerful lefthander in doubt for the match.

"He's probably 50-50 at best. He was supposed to be fully tested today, that didn't happen," Ponting said without explaining the reason for Hayden not undergoing the fitness test.

The injury prevented the veteran of 94 Tests from taking part in Australia's solitary warm-up game over the weekend in Trelawny.

"He has actually woken up a lot better today than he has in the last two days. If he wakes up well tomorrow (Wednesday), they will probably do some sort of testing tomorrow but you'd have to say not playing last week and having limited preparation for the Test, he's probably 50-50 at best," Ponting said.

Pleased with practice

He continued: "Our whole focus is getting ready for tomorrow's game. We are pleased with how the practice sessions went last week and are excited to play cricket in the Caribbean again.

"We just want to play better Test cricket. We have brought new faces into the team and we are looking forward to good performances," he said.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Jackie Hendriks is optimistic the Digicel series between the sides will be an exciting one.

"We are expecting a good tournament and we look forward to an exciting series which should boost the interest of cricket in the Caribbean," Hendriks said at the launch. "I think that Ricky Ponting might be a little relieved that the thorn in the side of the Australians, Brian Lara, is no longer on the West Indies team but all the best to both captains."

Sarwan confident

West Indies skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan said he was confident the hosts would perform well.

"We have to work with the team we have. This competition offers a lot of opportunities for us as players and we will strive to maintain consistency," Sarwan said, alluding to the absence of skipper Chirs Gayle and opener Sewnarine Chattergoon through injury.

Digicel Jamaica's commercial director, Junaid Munshi, said his company was not only sponsoring the series but affirmed its commitment to invest in the future of the sport.

"We are looking forward to another successful Digicel Home Series," Munshi said. "In addition to supporting the West Indies by providing the necessary resources to help grow cricket to its true potential, we want to encourage fans to get closer to the game."