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Spin worries West Indies

West Indies aim to negate Australia's intimidating legspin threats before launching a fierce bowling assault on their rivals in the three-Test series

Cricinfo staff
20-Oct-2005


Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be studying Australia's slow bowlers in the lead-up to the Test series © Getty Images
West Indies aim to negate Australia's intimidating legspin threats before launching a fierce bowling assault on their rivals in the three-Test series starting in Brisbane on November 3. The fast men are not as furious as their predecessors of the past 30 years, but the coach Bennett King is confident they will exploit the bouncy pitches even if they aren't as tall as the men who knocked over Australia during the Ashes.
"We have a very different set of bowlers to England, given they are all around 6ft4in [193cm] and our blokes are all around 5ft9in [175cm]," King said in The Australian. "But we have three or four blokes who bowl around that 90-95mph [145-155kph] mark and hopefully even quicker, so we have a bit of firepower there which can hopefully unsettle the Aussies.
"Back home they are forced to bowl to their knees on really flat tracks which are batsmen and even spin-friendly." The squad arrived in Brisbane on Thursday and Corey Collymore is expected to lead the attack with back-up from Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson and Fidel Edwards.
While the bowling appears settled, the batsmen's weaknesses to legspin will mean a host of local slow men will be called to assist their preparation for a potential confrontation with Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill. The pair performed well in tandem during the Super Test and will be considered for Brisbane even though the surface usually suits the fast bowlers.
"With what happened in the recent Test match you'd have to expect that [both Warne and MacGill playing] could happen again," Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, told the paper. "We know it will be tough but that is what makes you a Test cricketer. You have to deal with whatever may be in front of you." West Indies play Queensland in a four-day match starting on Thursday.