New blood handed chance to shine
After a hard-fought Test series in which all three matches went to five days, a Twenty20 international will probably be a welcome release for some of the players
Match facts
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Start time 14:00 (local), 18:00 (GMT)
The Big Picture
After a hard-fought Test series in which all three matches went to five days, a Twenty20 international will probably be a welcome release for some of the players. Failing to win the World Twenty20 last year frustrated Australia and they are keen to improve in this format, but ultimately there is little riding on the outcome of this match except perhaps the chance to take a slight edge into the ensuing one-day international series. Both teams will also test some fresh faces ahead of the ODIs, and the West Indies players will aim to show their credentials and build a case for selection in the Stanford $20 million match.Team news
West Indies will have a new-look top order compared to their last few Twenty20 internationals with Chris Gayle resting his troublesome groin, Marlon Samuels banned and Devon Smith axed. Xavier Marshall, who impressed in the Test series, is likely to open but his partner could be the uncapped William Perkins, Andre Fletcher or even the wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Kemar Roach, the fast bowler with four first-class games to his name, has also been included in the squad and might play at his home venue if West Indies want to rest one of their strike bowlers.Watch out for ...
Shaun Marsh The son of Australia's former opening batsman and coach Geoff Marsh, Shaun lit up the IPL with 616 runs at 68.44 in his 11-match stint with Kings XI Punjab and was comfortably the competition's leading run scorer. There is a permanent opening position on offer in the Australia limited-overs team following the retirement of Adam Gilchrist and Marsh has the ability to make the spot his own, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first tour with the national team.Pitch & conditions
The Kensington Oval pitch provided sharp bounce and speed during last week's Test match and there could be more of the same for the Twenty20 outing.Stats and trivia
Remarkably, given the popularity of the Stanford 20/20 tournament in the region, this will be the first Twenty20 international held in the Caribbean. It will also be the first Twenty20 international between Australia and West Indies.Quotes
"At this minute, the thing I'm most looking forward to is watching Shaun Marsh bat."Australia's captain Ricky Ponting
Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo