Pick finals team from the hat, suggests Waugh

Australia's captain Steve Waugh suggested on Tuesday the best way to select a team for the limited-overs final against the West Indies starting on Wednesday would be to pull the names out of a hat, such is the home side's depth.

Waugh's Australians, the reigning World Cup champions, have rotated their bowling attack, batting lineup, wicketkeeper and captaincy roles without dropping a match against West Indies and Zimbabwe in the triangular series.

They play the West Indies in a best-of-three finals series in Sydney on Wednesday and Melbourne on Friday and Sunday.

"It (selection) is going to be tough. We might have to pick it out of a hat, which is probably as good as any other way," Waugh told a news conference.

"We've won every game we've played this season and I'd hate to think we were saving our worst for the finals. I think we're going to play better than we have so far."

West Indies captain Jimmy Adams said his side would need to rise to a level beyond their efforts so far this summer to win the series.

"We have to play, more or less, the best game of the tour," Adams told a news conference.

"We are going to have to play the best game we can possibly put together but I think we can do it."

Australia beat West Indies 5-0 in the Test series which finished in January, extending their world-record winning streak to 15 Tests.

They will fly to India next week for a three-test tour. The squad is expected to be announced later this week.

Mail Cricket Editor