AGENCIES
Guyana
The contests may not be as consistently gripping as they once were but the rivalry between Australia and West Indies remains as heated as ever.
The two sides will clash in Guyana on Sunday, Australia's opening match in the ODI tri-series which also includes South Africa. The home side beat South Africa by four wickets in the first match of the tournament on Friday.
There's unlikely to be any incidents reminiscent of the infamous mid-pitch confrontation between Steve Waugh and Curtly Ambrose during a Test match in 1995. But equally, recent history suggests there is no love lost between the teams, especially when the white ball comes out. James Faulkner and Mitchell Starc are two members of the current Australian squad to have rowed with some of the Caribbean stars.
Kieron Pollard threw his bat during an ugly confrontation with Starc in the 2014 Indian Premier League season. "I've got no time for Pollard and I haven't talked to him at all," Starc said at the time.
Asked about the prospect of renewing acquaintances with Pollard in Georgetown, the left-armer smirked. "We'll see how we go," he said. "There has been a few (heated moments between the two sides) over the years.
"They're great competitors, they love white-ball cricket. It's probably where they perform their best. They like to entertain ... they're going to give us a good run in conditions they know best and enjoy."
Faulkner was fined for a send-off directed at Chris Gayle in 2013, while he also upset the West Indies with some pre-match comments during the 2014 World Twenty20. West Indies captain Darren Sammy quipped that "talk is cheap" after hammering Faulkner for two sixes in the final over of an intense World T20 pool match.
"There does always seem to be a bit of extra fire out on the field," Glenn Maxwell said of the rivalry. "It's always good competition between us and the West Indies."
Carlos Brathwaite, who exchanged barbs with David Warner during the 2015 Boxing Day Test, noted it was important his young team hold their own against Australia. "You have to be confident wherever you go," Brathwaite said. "We (recently) beat Australia in a warm-up game for the T20 World Cup.
"But this is a different format, so it's a matter of doing what we did back then but doing it over a longer period of time."
