Australia have come back to earth with a bump – quite literally, in Brett Lee's case – since their 21-match winning streak came to an end in Trinidad on Sunday, but with two matches remaining on their Caribbean tour, Ricky Ponting is determined to go out on top in Grenada.
Australia's minds have been on other matters in recent days. An investigation is underway after several players had the gear stolen at the airport en route to Grenada, and even the net sessions have failed to run smoothly – Lee ended up with concussion after being hit on the back of the neck by a stray ball from Jimmy Maher, although he is likely to be available for selection.
But when the action resumes on Friday, winning is all that matters for Australia, as Ponting was keen to reiterate. "The loss was a wake-up for us," he said of West Indies's 67-run victory at Port-of-Spain. "If you don't play at your best then you can be beaten and that's what happened. We've had a few days off before Friday's game so we've had plenty of time to freshen up and make sure we're a better team."
For any other side, it would be hard to regain momentum at the end of such an run of invincibility, and Ponting admitted his disappointment. "It would have been nice to continue it a bit longer," he said, "but I'm very proud of how we've done it and how we've gone about it." But after wrapping up the seven-match series 4-0, they are effectively 1-0 down in a best-of-three encounter. That should be incentive enough to go for the jugular.
In addition to Lee, Australia will make late decisions on the fitness of Michael Bevan and Glenn McGrath, both of whom suffered groin strains on Sunday. Darren Lehmann, on the other hand, is expected to be back in contention, after recovering fully from a calf strain, although he will have some job displacing Michael Clarke from the starting line-up. Clarke, 22, has scored 169 runs for once out since getting his chance.
Grenada has hosted just five one-day internationals and a solitary Test since the new stadium was opened in 1999, and there is an air of expectation ahead of the two matches. All the schools are being given a day off and the locals will be hoping that Devon Smith becomes the first Grenadian to play a home international.
West Indies's only injury worry is the offspinner Ryan Hurley, who damaged his shoulder taking a spectacular catch in Trinidad. But even if he can't play, West Indies have a readymade replacement in Omari Banks.