Australians face last hurdle in India: Waugh

Steve Waugh says his all-conquering Australian Test team must beat India on the sub-continent next month before they can be compared with cricket's greatest teams.

Success in India is the missing link for the Australians, who have overcome cricket's toughest barriers in the last decade by winning Test series in the West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

But India has been a barren hunting ground since Bill Lawry's team won 3-1 in 1969-70, leaving Waugh's team with another chance to prove themselves after building the longest winning streak in Test cricket history.

The Aussies stretched that to 15 matches here Saturday when they completed a 5-0 series whitewash of the West Indies, winning the final Test by six wickets.

In the wake of victory Waugh declared his focus had already shifted to the three-Test series against the Indians beginning in Mumbai on February 27.

"I've been thinking about India for a couple of months. We haven't won there for a long time and this is a great challenge," Waugh said.

"I think it's fair enough for people to judge us on the tour. I'm quite willing to put that on the line. If we don't perform over there then possibly we're not as good as these other sides that have won over there in other eras.

"If we're not good enough, we're not good enough."

But Waugh was confident his team could win despite a warning from Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who said Australia should prepare for spinning wickets.

Waugh has always shown enormous faith in his players, whose characters will be scrutinised after excelling in the less testing conditions of Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe over the past 15 months.

"I'm not too worried about whether the wickets are going to turn. We've got to go out there and play positive cricket and believe we can win on any surface in any conditions," Waugh said.

"I know we've got the side to win there. It's just a matter of attitude and enjoying the culture and the people and the surroundings and that's going to be crucial to the way we perform.

"We're going to go over there and give it our best shot. If we get beaten India will have to play real good cricket."

Waugh said it was too early to talk about potential tour selection, with Australia facing a one-day triangular tournament at home against the West Indies and Zimbabwe starting Thursday before they head to the sub-continent.

But the debate about the potential spin attack will simmer throughout the one-day series, with Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller contesting the spin berths.

MacGill and Miller have never played Tests in India and Warne has painful memories of his performances, taking 10 wickets at the costly average of 54 in three Tests.

But the record-breaking leg-spinner could have the inside running after being recalled from injury to the Australian one-day team while MacGill and Miller struggle for playing opportunities.

There are no first-class matches scheduled in Australia until the tour party leaves for India on February 13.

Mail Cricket Editor