The conditions Australia have had to face during their tour of the Caribbean are some of the toughest coach Mickey Arthur has witnessed.

The South African has been involved in international cricket since taking over as Proteas coach in 2005 but he says nothing has been like the slow, turning wicket his team had to battle on in the three one-day matches against the West Indies in St Vincent.

Australia left the island on Wednesday to make the short flight to St Lucia, venue for the fourth and fifth ODIs in the series, locked 1-1 with the hosts after Tuesday’s tied game at the Arnos Vale Ground.

“These conditions have been really tough,” Arthur told AAP.

“Some of the toughest conditions I’ve seen to be honest. I don’t think the people back home would realise how tough it’s been.”

But while Australia could only win one of the three games in St Vincent, Arthur was full of praise for his team going into the concluding matches at the Beausejour Stadium.

“Guys have had to adapt their games, guys have had to work on new techniques and that’s been the major benefit, to see our younger players – because it’s basically an inexperienced side, not a lot of our players have played in conditions like this before – trying to work so hard on their techniques,” he said.

“To see them try to master it, has been good but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Both teams will hold their first training sessions in St Lucia on Thursday to finalise their preparations for Friday’s fourth match.