PORT
OF SPAIN : Australia may employ two specialist spinners for the second
Test against the West Indies, which starts on Sunday at the Queen's Park
Oval.
Nathan Lyon, who played in the three-wicket victory in
Barbados in the first Test, could be partnered by left-arm spinner
Michael Beer as the Australians look to wrap up the three-match series.
"Over
the last two seasons it's been relatively low-scoring but also very,
very spin-friendly. The temptation to play two spinners could be there,"
said Australia coach Mickey Arthur.
"You never write that off
until you have a look at the conditions. I guess we've just got to look
at conditions, then decide how best we're going to get 20 wickets."
Lyon took just one wicket in the three-wicket win over West Indies in Barbados, while Beer has only played one Test.
That was against England in Sydney in January 2011, where his match figures were an embarrassing one for 112.
Meanwhile,
Arthur praised Michael Clarke after the skipper declared the team's
first innings at 43 runs behind the West Indies before pushing for
victory in the Bridgetown gloom on Wednesday.
"I thought it was a great idea and I sort of just backed him on it," said the coach.
"Michael needs to take all the plaudits for that because it was a brave decision that worked out for us.
"Tactically
he is very good. He's very positive, a very aggressive captain and
that's something I really enjoy and something I really like."
The last time that Australia played at Queen's Park Oval nine years ago, Ricky Ponting was man of the match.
He scored 206, his highest Test score at the time, as Australia scored a massive 4-576.
It
was a high-scoring match that Australia went on to win by 118 runs. Of
the current squad, Ponting is the only one to have played Test cricket
at the ground.
Preparations were hindered on Friday when afternoon
rain meant Australia had to cancel their training session, although the
West Indies managed to complete theirs before the rain arrived.
The player that the West Indies would surely have loved to have selected is Sunil Narine.
The
Queen's Park Oval is his home ground and the off-break variations that
allowed him to take 34 first-class wickets at an average of just 11.88
brought him to the attention of the selectors.
Unfortunately for the hosts, he won a lucrative Indian Premier League contract and, like Marlon Samuels, is unavailable.
Instead,
they have called up off-spinner Shane Shillingford, who last played
Test cricket in November 2010 before his bowling action was deemed
illegal.
His 14 Test wickets have cost 56.78 runs apiece but in his only appearance in Port-of-Spain he took 4-27 against South Africa.
The
weather could play a part as it did in Barbados, with rain likely at
some point over the five days, but it is not likely to dampen the
spirits of the locals as they play their steel drums in support of a
team that they are starting to believe in once again.
