Colin Croft: Waugh's mind games proved too much for weary West Indies

A quick look back at this Test match, with neutral eyes, tells the complete story. One team was totally prepared. The other should not even have bothered to turn up.

To be honest, Australia won this first Test while the West Indies were still on their way to Australia. Some explanations are due. Not excuses, mind you, but real hard facts.

Australia have not played a Test match since March/April, against New Zealand earlier this year. The West Indies not only played against England but before that, managed to beat Pakistan - just - at home, with the help of some dubious decisions, and Zimbabwe too. Australia played those one-day games at the Colonial Stadium against South Africa in August which was ideal, since it brought their minds back gradually to the task at hand in November, when they would be making their assault on the West Indies' record of 11 Test wins in succession.

In the meantime, after the West Indies returned from England, they played in a one-day competition in Kenya, like Australia, then a one day regional competition in Jamaica which should have been instrumental in warning the Caribbean powers-that-be that something was amiss. No one heeded the signs.

In that Red Stripe Bowl competition, there was only one century in nearly three weeks of cricket and ironically the player who scored it, Junior Murray of the Windward Islands, is not even in Australia.

All of the Test players played for their respective countries but in the semi-finals and finals, none of the teams managed to get 200 in any 50 over spell. That in itself should have been a warning that the West Indian batsmen were not up to speed for a tour of Australia.

Then the West Indies had a camp in Jamaica for about a week or so before coming to Australia. This would have done little to entice the players to either be up for the tour, or to enhance their abilities, which were already drained from the last year. Like Australia, they needed pure rest. Unlike Australia, they could not get it.

To add fuel to that fire, the team psychologist, Dr. Rudi Webster, was nowhere to be seen. His last assignment ended just as the West Indies were losing that tortuous Test match at Lords. The West Indies cricket team has not been good for some time, as Sir Gary Sobers suggested, but being beaten by England was the last straw. The team has not been itself since then.

Rather weirdly, Dr. Webster is used at home for the West Indies cricket team, but is not required for tours which on recent evidence is where the team struggles most. If anyone could explain that to me, then they could have my lost fortunes too. Australia, on the other hand, use their on-call psychologists as often as they require them. The case of Mark Waugh, with the match-fixing situation, is a case in point.

As a result, the West Indies were simply not ready at all for the trip down under. Steve Waugh and his guys knew that and worked at making it even more difficult for them to make a come-back.

The West Indies will struggle at Perth next week to avert another humiliation, at the hands of Glen McGrath and Brett Lee. Notice that the best batting pitches, Adelaide and Sydney, will only be used after Australia had calculated that they will have broken the record, just in case Brian Lara and co get going.

The West Indies batsmen are all in need of rest and some special psychological help. Even one of the younger players, Ramnaresh Sarwan, has lost his way, his confidence and bounce, and that speaks volumes.

Steve Waugh was brilliant as a captain in this game. His move to bring on Stuart MacGill as the first change in the first innings was a master stroke, since all expected it to be an all out war with fast bowlers. MacGill duly repaid his captain's cunning and confidence with the prized wicket of Sherwin Campbell who is normally the pebble, as opposed to the rock, that the West Indies try to build their innings on.

When Lara strode to the crease, the psychological trap was already set, as McGrath had been on a rest break for over a half an hour, ready for the effort once more. He did not disappoint. Lara duly edged his first delivery to the 'keeper. That, for all intents and purposes of the game, was that. Waugh had outplayed the entire West Indies cricket team's hierarchy in just a few overs of the first day. With Lara gone, removed psychologically more than physically, the rest of the team simply were not strong enough to cope.

Perth will be another matter altogether next week. The West Indies have very little time to recoup. There is even talk of bringing in a psychologist which to me seems like closing the door after the horse has bolted. For the West Indies to catch up now, they will have to work at warp speed. From very recent testimony, they do not even seem to be able to come with the speed of Brett Lee and Glen McGrath.