Jet-lagged skipper Chris Gayle, who joined the squad less than 24 hours before the start of the series, is all set to play the opening match against Australia, but senior batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan was in serious doubt after hurting his back during a fielding drill. Sarwan, who will be assessed before the toss on Thursday, fell awkwardly and lay on the turf for several minutes in obvious discomfort.

“It’s not good news, but we’re going to keep working and hopefully tomorrow he’ll be fit,” said Gayle, who arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday morning after visiting his ailing mother in Jamaica.

Sarwan’s record in Australia may be poor — he has only two half-centuries in six Tests — but he managed a defiant 128 against Ricky Ponting’s men in Antigua last year.

Rival skipper Ricky Ponting said the loss of Sarwan would serve as a “massive blow” for West Indies. “To have their captain going halfway round the world in the past couple of days and one of their better batsmen going down, it’s obviously not a great start for them,” Ponting said.

Both teams have something to prove. Australia will be playing their first Test after the Ashes defeat in August and will be desperate to put that loss behind them by sweeping past the West Indies. The visitors, on the other hand, are at full-strength, almost, for the first time after since the players’ strike, during which they lost to Bangladesh at home.