Same old Windies story

Who is really who in the upcoming Test series? You would think that the West Indies are playing the role of the all-conquering Muhammad Ali and the Australians are cast in the mould of the huge underdog Earnie Shavers given the degree of preparation, so far, by both sides ahead of the opening showdown at Sabina Park in 17 days' time.

Ali fanatics may not need any reminding, but the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world came fairly close to paying the price for complacency when Shavers took him to 15 rounds in their contest at Madison Square Garden in New York in September, 1977. Criticised for a lack of intensity in his training leading into the fight, the champ prevailed on a unanimous points decision, although some seasoned observers maintained that the comfortable margin of victory had more to do with Ali's larger-than-life reputation than his dominance of the challenger.

The point is, though, that the favourite prevailed in the end, much as the Aussies are expected to do in the three-Test series despite the run of three consecutive victories by the Caribbean side [2nd Test and first two ODIs] last month at home to Sri Lanka. But unlike the man who proclaimed himself to be "The Greatest," Ricky Ponting and his squad are not giving any indication of taking their two-month swing through the islands in the sun as a leisurely, well-paid holiday with some cricket against lightweight opponents thrown in every now and then.

Despite the considerable attraction of huge pay-cheques appearing for their respective franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the entire Australian Test touring party is now in Brisbane for a training camp before the players depart for Kingston next week. The veteran left-hander Simon Katich, recalled to the Test squad after a record-breaking domestic season with New South Wales, was facing up to Brett Lee in the indoor nets last Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground just a day after returning from India.

It could be argued that Katich would already have been in pretty good shape after turning out for the King's XI Punjab in the early matches of the IPL. However the 32-year-old, who averages 36.00 in 23 Tests, is obviously keen to make the most of this opportunity after more than two years in the international wilderness. The circumstances of his last Test innings - caught by Chris Gayle at first slip off Corey Collymore for a duck at The Gabba in the first Test of the 2005 series - are probably additional motivation to make amends should he get a chance in the Caribbean.

So while the champions are already down to business in the tropical climate of Brisbane, what's the story with the home side? Following the Sri Lankan series, new manager Omar Khan talked about preparations for a training camp before going into battle with the Australians. However the dates and venue for that camp, if confirmed, are yet to be made public, while the training squad, if already selected, has not yet been released by the West Indies Cricket Board.

Nothing new with those two issues, and it is also stale news that the trio of West Indians now involved in the IPL [Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo - Gayle has been ruled out a groin injury] will not be back until May 18, four days before the start of the first Test. Add to that the uncertainty over the captain's fitness and it seems to be the same old story of time and opportunity lost before an important assignment.

It's interesting to compare the priorities of the West Indians and Australians when it comes to national duty and the IPL, for they seem as far apart as their respective countries. The Aussies are among the highest paid in international cricket based on their retainer contracts with Cricket Australia. Still, the prospect of earning up to three times their regular salaries for just a few weeks' work in India was too good to pass up, although there was never a question of the selected players trying to persuade their administrators to excuse them from the camp and let them stay on for another week of IPL money-making.

Their West Indian counterparts do not have retainer arrangements, however the Caribbean cricketers' match/tour contracts, thanks to aggressive and effective representation from the West Indies Players Association, means they are very well taken care of, even if it is not at the level of the Australians.

Yet before the ICC meeting in Dubai which mandated that official international commitments take precedence over sanctioned private competitions, the WICB CEO Donald Peters was prepared to concede that the IPL-bound West Indians would not have been available for the first two Tests of the three-match series. Even after the ICC's clarification, there was still speculation about the players' date of return, the implication being that IPL money was higher up the batting order for one or two of them than playing for West Indies in a Test match.

Last Saturday made it 13 years since Mark Taylor's men humbled Richie Richardson's West Indies side by an innings and 53 runs at Sabina to reclaim the Frank Worrell Trophy and bring to an end an era of Caribbean invincibility in Test series that had spanned more than 15 years.

Katich's sharpening of his skills against Lee and others on that anniversary day suggests that the tourists won't be caught unawares by hosts seeking to score a lucky punch.