Graham Ford: West Indies present a stiff challenge

South African coach Graham Ford is unconcerned about his side's apparent lack of preparation time ahead of the First Test against the West Indies that begins at the Bourda ground in Georgetown on March 9th, although he does admit that having just one warm-up match requires his team to make a quick start.

The tourists tackle a composite 'Busta XI' in a three-day match at the Everest Cricket Club starting on Sunday and they seem certain to field their full-strength Test XI in the fixture.

"We've got to get into the groove as quickly as possible. We had a really successful summer (beating both New Zealand and Sri Lanka 2-0 in three-Test series) because we were able to apply our basic disciplines for Test cricket," Ford said.

"Within our framework and game-plan there are variations, and there are going to be variations from island to island over here, and we're going to have to adjust. But our basic game-plan is going to be the same and it's really about slipping into the groove of that strategy straight away in our practises and the three-day game," Ford said.

Cricket, like so many things in life, is best when kept simple and Ford says there is no secret to the success of South Africa's Test and one-day teams since he took over.

"It's all about assessing the right areas in which to bowl, especially the right length - both for batting and bowling. You're going to attack the balls that aren't in the 'danger' area and you're going to try and put as many balls in that area when you're bowling.

"Wherever we go our job has got to be assessing where that little awkward area is on each pitch and then apply the necessary knowledge. I must say, though, that judging from how well the team adapted on our last tour, when we moved from Sri Lanka to Australia and then to Singapore, I'd have to say that the guys showed they could adapt - almost overnight, in fact, because there were very, very different conditions in those three places."

Ford is adamant that Carl Hooper's new look West Indian team will represent a very different proposition to the side that was rolled over 5-0 in Australia and, in particular, the return of Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the middle order will make a significant difference.

"It's going to make a huge difference, make no mistake about that. Hooper and Chanderpaul coming back to support Lara will make a massive difference to the middle-order and the younger guys that toured Australia will have been toughened up to the point where they won't be the same players. The Aussie tour may have been a disaster in results terms but it will be a huge learning advantage for them.

"We know how brilliant their record at home is and that is not an accident or a coincidence. If you look at their likely middle order compared to the one that played in Australia, there's almost no comparison. Hooper, Chanderpaul, Lara and maybe still Adams represents an awful lot of experience with guys that have been rated very highly in world cricket for a very long time. Their statistics alone should make them one of the best batting line-ups in world cricket.

"Everybody in the camp is aware of just how big the challenge is but we are not going to make the mistake of looking too hard at the opposition and not hard enough at our own game. We must keep focussed on what we are doing with an overall aim to becoming the best side in the world."