A throwback tournament in changing times

Australia have declared themselves favourites on the eve of a tri-series that will provide a thorough survey of three teams at contrasting points of their development. It will also offer an intriguing look at the international game immediately following the conclusion of the IPL, as many of the chief combatants are still dusting themselves off after eight hectic weeks traversing India.

In a way the series is a throwback, for triangular ODI tournaments were once the bread and butter of the international schedule, having first been popularised in Australia following the end of the World Series Cricket split. Barely a year went by in the 1990s and early 2000s without numerous competitions of this kind, and after some years of a more bilateral focus there is an appetite at the ICC level for a return to three-cornered contests.

For Steven Smith's team, the tournament is a chance to reassert some authority in the 50-over format after a defeat at the hands of an emotion-charged New Zealand side in February. Ranked comfortably, the world's leading ODI team and reigning World Cup champions, the Australians will be challenged by slow and awkward conditions in Guyana and St Kitts before the tournament concludes in Barbados. But in the words of Aaron Finch, they have earned the favourites tag over several years of strong displays around the world, not only in home territory.

"Absolutely we're still favourites," Finch said in Guyana. "We've had good success all over the world, we're the No. 1 team in the world for a reason. We've played some great cricket over the last two to three years including the World Cup, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be favourites.

"The South Africans and West Indies are two quality sides so that really doesn't mean anything going into it, but at the same time we appreciate the position we're in as No. 1 and also we've put a lot of hard work into that. It's going to be tough on wickets we haven't played on for a while, so it's a case of getting stuck in and playing our best cricket whenever we can."

There is also something of a transitional air to Australia's touring party, not only in terms of players but also support staff. The interim coach Justin Langer may one day find himself in the role full-time, while the selector on duty Trevor Hohns may be pondering another stint as chairman of selectors - he previously held the role from 1996 to 2006 - depending on when the current chairman Rod Marsh chooses to retire from the panel.

Among the players, Mitchell Starc is returning after foot surgery and will add the threatening edge temporarily missing from Australia's attack. Langer and Hohns will manage him carefully in full awareness of later assignments in Sri Lanka and back home, but at the same time Smith will be eager to unleash the swing and speed Starc used to such great effect in the World Cup and elsewhere.

There will be jostling among the top order as Finch, Smith, Usman Khawaja and David Warner duel for places in the top three, while the spin bowlers Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon can expect opportunities on pitches expected to take turn. Behind the stumps Matthew Wade will hope to atone for an underwhelming series in New Zealand that allowed Peter Nevill to leap ahead of him for the World T20 campaign that preceded the IPL.

"There's 16 players here on tour and obviously that doesn't fit into 11, so whoever gets the nod is going to be under pressure to perform well because there are guys here to fill every spot in the side," Finch said. "As a group that is a great space to be in, because it pushes everyone hard, it also makes everyone appreciate the position they're in at the time. It's going to be exciting and whoever gets the nod first up is good."

For South Africa, it is patently clear that the team and their management will be under pressure to show evidence of progress. The coach Russell Domingo is the subject of plenty of job speculation, for he is out of contract later in the year without a record of enormous success to keep him safe. South Africa are widely thought to be in a position of some decline, while the absence of Dale Steyn, ostensibly rested but actually playing in the T20 Blast with Glamorgan, will raise a few eyebrows.

Nevertheless, a strong batting line-up and the eminent threat of Morne Morkel will provide plenty of headaches for the opposition. Domingo and AB de Villiers will be expected to guide the team into the tournament final, and anything less may bring dire consequences for the coach. The tournament may be cast as the start of a run towards next year's Champions Trophy in England, and Domingo will need to generate better results here in order to make it that far.

And what of West Indies, World T20 champions but paupers otherwise? A preparatory cycle that featured a pair of losses to a Barbados Select XI did not suggest promise, and the hodgepodge selection of some T20 stars - Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine are in - but not others - Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy are out - gives the squad a somewhat muddled look.

It is disheartening for all concerned that West Indies failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy by being ranked outside the top eight at the September 2015 cut-off date. Their absence will be the first time West Indies have missed out on a global tournament since they were victorious in the very first World Cup as far back as 1975, reflecting the decline of regional cricket. The tri-series offers the chance for some consolation on home turf, but squabbles at board and management level seem unlikely to abate any time soon.

West Indies' current predicament makes for quite a change from the halcyon days of tri-series, when the teams led by Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Richie Richardson lifted the World Series Cup in Australia no fewer than six times in eight attempts. Their current coach Phil Simmons was part of the team that edged Australia in 1992-93, and would want nothing more than to repeat the trick on home soil 23 years later. Whether a confident Australia or a motivated South Africa will let that happen is another matter.