Rampant Kangaroos go for a world record

By Malcolm Conn

PERTH, NOV. 30. Whatever the mental state of Brian Lara, it must surely be better than his worrying physical condition as he tentatively carries the last hope of a competitive summer into the second Test at Perth's WACA Ground on Friday.

As a rampant Australia prepares to claim all sorts of personal and collective achievements over the next few days to confirm its exalted place in history, Lara did literally nothing at training to suggest this Test would be any different to the first.

So tender was his troublesome right hamstring that he spent most of the low-key West Indian fielding session stretching and almost all of the net practice sitting on an esky. Who knows, Lara may come out and perform like a wounded lion as he has done before against Australia with devastating results.

But barely 10 minutes of low-key batting with one pad against gentle throws as a total preparation for the most crucial Test of this rapidly evaporating series does not suggest someone in tune with himself and his game.

West Indian manager, Ricky Skerritt, said that Lara was sore after treatment on his troublesome hamstring the previous evening and had been told to take it easy.

The problem has plagued Lara since he arrived on this year's tour of England, unfit and overweight, and suffered the inevitable problems associated with lack of preparation.

Captain Jimmy Adams said Lara had given assurances that he would be fit to play. All this merely compounds the enigma of Brian Lara during another difficult week following a double failure in the first Test and the extraordinary publicity around his teenage English covergirl partner.

Adams played down any concerns about the likelihood of the latest Lara saga being a distraction. ``That's been an ongoing thing throughout his career,'' said Adams. ``It nothing new. Brian's a great player and I think that attracts attention.''

It has certainly caught Glenn McGrath's attention. He cannot stop talking about knocking over the gifted left-hander and with just two wickets needed for 300, McGrath wants Lara to be that scalp. Steve Waugh has backed McGrath's publicly aggressive stand as the natural reaction of a fine player on top of his game.

``That's not so much mind games,'' said Waugh, believing it is simply a reflect of his champion fast bowler's confidence. ``If you can't back it up don't say it. If Lara comes out and gets a couple of hundreds I'm sure he's going to let Glenn know he's not quite right.

Not as fine as the line the West Indies will be forced to tread against possibly the best pace attack Australia has ever assembled on the most fast-bowler friendly wicket in the world. If Lara does not produce runs over the next few days then this series is likely to die a quick and painful death for history suggests the West Indies has never had a better opportunity to square its recently lop-sided ledger than in Perth.

It has easily won all five previous contests against Australia at the WACA Ground over the past 25 years with fearsome fast bowling and uninhibited batting. However, Adams concedes that his team will need more than a good dose of the past if it is to prevent Australia eclipsing the 1984 West Indian record of 11 successive victories.

While the West Indies' bowling can make it competitive on such a traditionally supportive surface, it is the batting which must step up. Much of last night's team meeting was spent deciding whether to replace the talented Ramnaresh Sarwan after four successive ducks on tour with Wavell Hinds, who has poor feet movement but will take on short bowling.

Adams is hopeful his young side will not be intimidated by the Australians, even thought his teammates batted like rabbits caught in truck headlights during the very short Brisbane Test.

Giving it back

Waugh knows better than any current player the brutal mauling the West Indian pace attack systematically dealt out during the late '80s and early '90s, particularly in Perth, but is not seeking revenge.

This is despite having the balance of fire power firmly in his favour for the first time since Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson propelled Australia to a 5-1 victory 25 years ago. ``I don't feel any of that,'' said Waugh. ``I was there when it happened years ago and it wasn't nice to be on the receiving end but you've just got to go out and play good cricket.

``It's no use having revenge on your mind. You can get distracted. We'll be professional and try to be ruthless and clinical if we can.''

This is just another reason why Australia was loath to play four fast bowlers, naming Andy Bichel as 12th man. Earlier Waugh suggested the side would have a ``pretty conventional attack'' and there has been nothing more conventional over most of the past decade than a leg-spinner complimenting the pacemen.

While the Perth pitch always helps the quicks, this strip has less grass than many which have gone before it and bare patches which could scuff up will suit the spin of Stuart MacGill bowling from the northern end into the prevailing Fremantle Doctor. That's if he gets a chance to bowl.

Much of the early emphasis will be on pace, with McGrath no certainty to continue down wind after picking the end for his opening spell. ``Whoever's bowling the best or the quickest or whoever is suited to the wind will get the chance,'' Waugh said. ``Just because Glenn McGrath has taken almost 300 wickets doesn't mean he'll automatically bowl down wind.''

This Test could be fun while it lasts. Get there early.

The teams:

Australia: Steve Waugh (capt.), Michael Slater, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath and Andy Bichel (12th man).

West Indies: Jimmy Adams (capt.), Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Black, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mervyn Dillon, Darren Ganga, Ridley Jacobs, Nixon McLean and Courtney Walsh.

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