Clarke preparing for Windies backlash

Australia captain Michael Clarke says he won’t be surprised if the West Indies bounce back hard from their first Test humiliation.

The tourists claimed a thumping nine-wicket win inside three days in the series opener in Dominica last week.

Many are predicting a similar thrashing in the second and final Test starting at Sabina Park, Jamaica, on Thursday (0100 Friday AEST).

But Clarke is having none of that and fully expects the Windies to bounce back in Kingston.

“It’s going to be extremely tough,” Clarke said.

“They fought really hard, especially on that third day in first Test match.

“We’re hoping as a team that we can improve from the first Test match. We have to be at our best to beat them. There’s no doubt about it.”

With veteran opener Chris Rogers still sidelined due to concussion, the Australians are expected to pick the same team which claimed the first Test inside three days.

The Kingston pitch looked grassy and green on Wednesday, although Clarke was refusing to speculate given how much surfaces can be altered in the Caribbean prior to a match starting.

Clarke said the team had faced “challenges” since their arrival in Kingston on Monday, though he wouldn’t be drawn on what they specifically were.

He believes the two days of rest the team enjoyed in Dominica before making the journey to Jamaica will help them overcome those challenges.

“It helped freshen guys up. Dominica was our first Test match together for a while as a group,” he said.

“Finishing inside three days meant we had two days to freshen up mentally and physically and then the boys trained really well yesterday.”

Australia (probable): David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke (capt), Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

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