First strike for WI newcomers

The West Indies have thrown their new players into the deep end for their first four-day match oftheir Australian tour against Western Australia, starting at the WACA ground in Perth today.

Star players Brian Lara and Courtney Walsh have been omitted, leaving batsmen Darren Ganga, Wavell Hinds and Ramnaresh Sarwan and fast bowlers Marlon Black, Merv Dillon, Kerry Jeremy and Colin Stuart largely on their own in their first major outing in Australia against strong opposition that includes seven players with Test experience.

Manager Ricky Skerritt said the aim was to give the young players the chance to perform as early as possible, adding that it was always intended that Lara would play in only one of the two four-day matches that precede the first Test in Brisbane November 23-27.

Lara stroked a run-a-ball 108 against the ACB Chairman's XI in the relaxed traditional tour opener in the Perth suburb of Lilac Hill on Tuesday and said afterwards he looked forward to playing a longer innings against Western Australia.

He will now have to wait until the match against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground November 17-20 for his next significant innings.

The 38-year-old Walsh had originally been pencilled in for this match but Test cricket's highest wicket-taker arrived for his fifth Australian tour Tuesday without his gear that was inadvertantly leftin London by the airline. He was reluctant to turn out without his special bowling boots.

In his absence, Dillon is the only one in the pace quartet with Test experience and he had the last of his eight Tests against Australia in Port-of-Spain in March, 1999.

Black, Jeremy and Stuart are all on their first tours as the selectors continue their hunt for replacements for Walsh and the recentlyretired Curtly Ambrose.

The match will be a stern examination for the West Indian newcomers.

Western Australia - now known as the "Western Warriors" - include current Australian Test players, batsmen Justin Langer and Damien Martyn and wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, along with captain Tom Moody, left-arm spinner Brad Hogg and fast bowlers Brendon Julian and Matthew Nicholson who have all previously played Test cricket.