Gayle

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC):

Buoyed by their win in the Twenty20 International, West Indies are pumped up for a series win in the Digicel One-Day International Series against Australia that gets going at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex today.

A public holiday has been declared for the match and West Indies captain Chris Gayle is looking to his men to repeat the success of the shortened Twenty20 at Kensington Oval last Friday.

"We want it to be a good competition. We're looking to win the series," Gayle told reporters after a practise session yesterday.

"Beating them in the Twenty20 was tremendous. Hopefully, we can continue in the same vein."

West Indies, however, have a few injury concerns ahead of the match.

While Gayle, who has not fully recovered from a groin injury he picked up in the series against Sri Lanka two months ago, is likely to return, a few other players are troubled by minor injuries.

They include key batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, as well as wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

"The team is carrying a few niggles. We have to be careful how we use the guys," Gayle said.

"Some guys are struggling. We have to try and come with the best combination tomorrow [today] and see how well we can cope with it against Australia."

With a cloud hanging over Ramdin, it is expected that fellow wicket-keeper/batsman Patrick Browne will be the preferred choice for duties behind the stumps.

With uncertainty over Chanderpaul and Sarwan, young Grenadian batsman Andre Fletcher, who played in the Twenty20 match, is poised for his One-Day International debut.

"It's an opportunity for them. We will see how well we can come with the best combination," Gayle said.

"Obviously, we want to give everyone a chance. We have the Champions Trophy coming up as well. We want to look at everyone."

Confidence

While West Indies look to putting on a good show in the series, Australia captain Ricky Ponting is bubbling with confidence.

His assurance comes against the background that the World Cup champions are going through a process in which they are trying to overcome the absence of several top players who have left the international arena in the past few months.

Ponting paid tribute to West Indies, but he doesn't expect the home team to topple them.

"Their bowling group will be pretty steady for the one-dayers, but in saying that, our one-day side stacks up pretty well against most around the world," he said.

"I'd expect us to win the series, that's for sure."

The tourists warmed up for the series with a big win by 126 runs over the University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI in a day/night match at the 3Ws Oval on Saturday.

They are expected to welcome back wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, after his recovery from a finger injury, but there are doubts over Andrew Symonds, who is still battling a sore back.

The teams:

WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle (captain), Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Andre Fletcher, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Patrick Browne, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, Daren Powell.

AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (captain), Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Andrew Symonds, James Hopes, Brad Haddin, Luke Ronchi, Brett Lee, Cameron White, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove, Asad Rauf. TV replays: Clyde Duncan.

Matchreferee: Roshan Mahanama.