As Australia's research of previously unthinkable combinations continues, West Indies have been thrust into a similar predicament for Friday's third Test with two key batsmen ruled out by injury. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels did not make much impact as the Frank Worrell Trophy was decided in nine days, but their chances of a dead-rubber victory as consolation for another difficult and disruptive tour are also suffering from poor health.
The successful heart surgery to Gayle sounds more worrying than the team has reported and Samuels' departure with a knee problem has left the visitors with a shoestring 13-man squad and no batting options for the final match of the tour. Australia have easily accounted for their first-choice line-ups in Brisbane and Hobart, excepting the fabulous day of resistance provided by Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, and their main hope for improvement lies with a lack of Australian intensity.
Bravo can expect more responsibility after his century and Dwayne Smith should be given a chance to see if his destructive substitute fielding at Bellerive Oval can translate into equally brilliant run-scoring, while Gayle's surgery means Wavell Hinds can return from a broken finger suffered against Queensland at the start of the trip. West Indies may have an unfamiliar look at the top of the order, but Australia's two opening friends have been reunited with Justin Langer recovering from a fractured rib.
Langer's reappearance created a domino effect with Mike Hussey pushed into the middle - he will probably bat No. 5 - and Michael Clarke forced to play for New South Wales against Queensland this weekend instead of encouraging his Test team-mates from point. It has been a strange two months for Australia but the flurry of new faces and Ricky Ponting's hard-nosed attitude should ensure there is no complacency.
Dead-rubber syndrome was a hyped occurrence under Steve Waugh but since Ponting took control Australia have lost only one match, the fourth Test against India on a horrible pitch at Mumbai, when the series was sealed. "We'd come to realise that it all boils down to personal pride and mental toughness in these perceived lesser-value games," Waugh wrote in his autobiography. "One thing we had to consider was that in such matches someone might be playing for his spot, making his debut or experiencing his last memories as a national representative."
Most of Australia's middle order is playing to stay there, although failures would hurt Andrew Symonds more than Brad Hodge and Hussey after their fine performances at Hobart. The other contentious area revolved around the spinners and the same question will follow Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne all summer. The pair was complementary in the second Test and will be used again at Adelaide after Nathan Bracken was named 12th man.
Warne had to wait years to understand the Adelaide Oval pitch and his 44 wickets in 11 Tests, with only one five-wicket haul, show his problems with it. However, his prediction it would "spin miles at the end" made it hard to ignore either legspinner, especially with their success over West Indies' fragile and unfamiliar batting line-up.
Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Brad Hodge, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Nathan Bracken.
West Indies (probable) 1 Devon Smith, 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Dwayne Smith, 8 Denesh Ramdin, 9 Daren Powell, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Corey Collymore.