Discipline is the key word skipper Kraigg Brathwaite is stressing on to his young players, with West Indies set to unveil an extremely inexperienced XI against Test world champions Australia in Adelaide - Shamar Joseph, Kavem Hodge and Justin Greaves all set to make their Test debuts.
West Indies are expected to field an XI with only five members who played in the two-Test series against Australia in Australia last summer, with seven players, including the three debutants, Tagenarine Chanderpaul (eight), Gudakesh Motie (four), Alick Athanaze (two), and Kirk McKenzie (one) combining for just 15 Tests. Wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva is West Indies' fourth-most experienced player and has played the same number of Tests, 24, as Australia's least experienced player, Cameron Green.
Brathwaite, who is only 13 Tests away from playing 100, says his side can compete with Australia if they maintain their discipline for long periods.
"All I want to see from the team is fight," Brathwaite said. "We're obviously playing against the number one team but I believe we do have the potential. It all revolves around discipline - how long we can be disciplined for as a bowling unit, because we don't want to go in fours and fives obviously. So once we can be disciplined and obviously put partnerships on the board, anything is possible. But we've got to work extremely hard and we have to believe in ourselves."
West Indies took great heart from the Pakistan's performance against Australia in recent weeks, despite the 3-0 scoreline.
Alzarri Joseph noted on Monday that West Indies' bowlers needed to adjust their lengths from last summer, having bowled too short to an Australian top order that had a feast in Perth and Adelaide.
Brathwaite said his bowlers had taken a close look at the success of Pakistan's Aamer Jamal in his debut series as the blueprint of how to bowl in Australia.
"We saw his lengths. He really attacked the stumps a lot and his length, it was quite a bit fuller than the other guys," Brathwaite said. "I think, especially early on, you can always get carried away as fast bowlers. Obviously in the Caribbean, we are not accustomed [to bowling those lengths], we don't see many pitches like this. So for young fast bowlers to come, they get a bit excited and bowl a little shorter.
"But we were in discussions in terms of lengths. Watching guys bowl here over the years, we do agree a bit fuller [works], especially early on with the new ball. The new ball will be quite crucial. So we also got to utilise that and be disciplined. That's a big word for us: discipline.
"It will take doing it not just for a half-hour. You've got to do it for the entire day if it takes that long. Hopefully not. But if it does, it's just having the strength mentally, despite your body maybe being tired as bowlers, to be able to do it for long periods. That's what makes guys world-class bowlers. They do it not just in the first spell but they do it throughout the day. They keep coming at you. So we've got to do that. It's simple and I believe that the guys have the potential to do it and they have my support."
As vital as it will be for the bowlers to have an impact, an even heavier burden will fall on West Indies' openers in Brathwaite and Chanderpaul given the middle order of McKenzie, Athanaze, Hodge and Greaves have played three Tests between them.
Brathwaite and Chanderpaul shared stands of 78, 116, 35 and 15 last summer against Australia, with Brathwaite scoring 64 and 110 in Perth, while Chanderpaul made scores of 51, 45 and 47 in his first three Test innings, showing extraordinary grit against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Green.
Brathwaite was aware of how important good opening stands would be. "Very, very important," he said. "We know it's never easy. Obviously, they have a world-class attack. Early on, I think it's very important for us to build that foundation and spend time. Make it easier for the guys to come. That's always the role of an opener. We'll go out there and fight hard and look to do that for the team."
He was hoping the presence of Brian Lara at training over the past few days, in a mentoring capacity, might help inspire a few of the newcomers to great heights in Adelaide.
"It's always amazing to have Brian around," Brathwaite said. "He has a good set of runs here at Adelaide, so if he could give some of the guys [an idea of how to score] that would be great. But obviously, his wisdom is always good, his advice. He's been through many situations, especially here in Australia and against Australia. My advice to the guys will always be to tap into him."