Just over a year after the last match at Adelaide Oval, Australia and the West Indies meet again at the same ground.
FOLLOW DAY 1 AT ADELAIDE OVAL LIVE BELOW!
Australia and the West Indies met last summer at Adelaide Oval and the hosts prevailed by 419 runs. Most pundits are predicting similarity in the rematch, but both sides have seen a major change.
Of the West Indies side that last played in Australia, only four remain – openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tajnarine Chanderpaul, wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua da Silva and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph – in an incredibly inexperienced line-up.
Painting a picture of the gap in experience between the two teams, with 24 caps to his name, Cameron Green will be the fourth most experienced player for the West Indies. Green is Australia's least experienced player.
Chanderpaul, with eight ODIs, is the fifth most experienced player in the XI and one of seven West Indians to have played fewer than 10 Tests.
Of those seven, three are starters – seamer Shamar Joseph and middle-order batsmen Kavim Hodge and Justin Greaves – and the remaining three have each played less than five.
Australia's line-up has been a model of consistency over the past year, but it is taking its own steps towards a new era at Adelaide Oval.
David Warner is gone, replaced at the top by the familiar face of Steve Smith in a bizarre pairing with Usman Khawaja. In Smith's long-standing place at number four comes Cameron Green.
Smith has never opened the batting at first-class level while Green has never batted higher than No. 6 in a Test, last donned the baggy green competitively in July, and has an encouraging but mean average of 33.59 across 24 matches so far.
However, if there was ever a time to try out for the XI, you suspect it's now.
Start time
10am local time, January 17-21 at Adelaide Oval
10:30am AEST, 11:30am AEST, 7am AEST
How to watch
Watch live on Fox Cricket Ch 501 or stream live on Kayo Sports
conditions
Partly cloudy conditions in the mid 20s are expected during the first two days of testing before more sunny and hot conditions from days three to five. Chances of rain are minimal during the full five days.
The pitch is expected to present plenty of challenges for the touring side, with Adelaide Oval's curator Hogg expecting the pitch's surface to be looser than usual.
“It's been a weird summer, so we've had some rain, some cooler weather, some more rain on some hot days, some more rain,” Hough said Monday.
“So we know that in January, the evaporation is higher and therefore the temperatures are higher, so we know it's going to dry out. From the coordination side of things, you're going to get that real bread on the field (which) should get very tough which will hopefully equate to better pace.” In the field.
“But obviously time will tell if it equals that. We had a really good lead as the weather managed to get some good moisture throughout the pitch.
Looking for
Steve Smith He built a career as the greatest problem solver of the Test batting generation. Thirty-four years old and enduring his first long rut, the modern great has volunteered to open the batting and Australia will be hoping to get the best out of him.
He entered the series with 9,514 Tests to his name across 187 innings. A brilliant start to life at the top could put him back on track to better the record of 195 runs for the fewest to reach 10,000 Test runs.
“I've never seen him as happy and energetic as he has been around the net the last couple of days. He can't wait to get out there,” captain Pat Cummins said of Smith.
“Seeing someone who's achieved everything in the game and he's really excited about a new challenge, you've got to enjoy that. I think seeing how excited he is about it, you can already see his mind is getting clear as to how he's going to do it. A little differently.”
Shamar Youssef He will be one of three debutants in the touring squad – along with middle-order duo Kavim Hodge and Justin Greaves – and West Indies need him to adapt to life as a Test cricketer as quickly as Pakistan's Aamir Jamal, who took 18 wickets at 20.44 against him. Australia after it was first extradited last month.
Joseph, 24, has a first-class average of 21.80 but has played just five matches at this level so far in his young career. The quick has impressed at tour level, collecting five not out for West Indies A against South Africa A in December, while taking two wickets to help the Windies bowl out a Cricket Australia XI for 174 earlier this month.
difference
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tajinarin Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alec Athanazi, Kaveem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Moti, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach.
Form
Australia
Eight-wicket win against Pakistan at the SCG
Winning by 79 runs against Pakistan at the MCG
360-run win over Pakistan at Perth Stadium
Losing by 49 points to England at The Oval
Draw with England at Old Trafford
West Indies
Draw with India in Port of Spain
Losing by an innings and 141 runs against India at Roseau
A 284-point loss to South Africa in Johannesburg
Losing by 87 points to South Africa in Centurion
Winning by an innings and four runs against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo
Who said what?
“I think what I like is that I have a little bit of time. I've always felt like maybe a touch quick on No. 6, especially after Headey (Travis Head) made it look so easy on No. 5… I've always felt like maybe I should Pushing the game forward, while I feel like number 4 is my natural game where I can take my time and settle into it. -Cameron Green on his return to the batting order at number four.
“I think our lengths last time were a little short. We just need to be a little fuller and stay patient. Basically it's different to the Caribbean. More bounce.” – West Indies quick Alzarri Joseph on lessons learned from last summer.
