AUSTRALIA won the toss and asked West Indies to bat first in the eighth match of the Ballr Cup tri-nation series at Kensington Oval today.
It is a crucial match for both teams and defeat for Australia will result in a final between West Indies and South Africa at the same venue on Sunday.
West Indies have made one change to the team that lost to South Africa last Wednesday, bringing in Shannon Gabriel for his One-Day International debut in place of fellow pacer Jerome Taylor.
It is a fair afternoon at Kensington, in stark contrast to persistent rain that limited last Sunday’s match between South Africa and Australia to a solitary over.
South Africa lead the table on 12 points with Australia on 11 and West Indies eight.
About 1 000 spectators were in the stands prior to the 1 p.m. start but the crowd is expected to grow throughout the day.
The teams:
WEST INDIES – Jason Holder (captain), Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Sulieman Benn, Shannon Gabriel.
AUSTRALIA – Steve Smith (captain) Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood.
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (Barbados), Richard Kettleborough (England). TV replays: Kumar Dharmasena.
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).
