Betting tips / Frank Gregan / 15 March 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Frank Gegan wouldn't compare the current Australian side in a league with that of the late nineties, but he can't deny that Michael Clarke and his young guns look ready to take it up to the West Indies, and then some.

The Aussies have been a bit quiet of late as their team went through a transition phase. It was only four months ago that they were skittled out for 47 against the South Africans. We forget of course that Australia bounced back and drew that Test series, having already won the one day series 2-1.

The bad news for the rest of the world is that they seem to be getting their act back together.

They head into a five-game ODI series against the West Indies in decent form and full of confidence. It's been said that after a long hard summer this tour is the last thing that the Aussies need but Shane Watson, who will skipper the one-day side, disagrees.

There's a lot of cricket to be played. Five 50-over games, two T20s and three Test matches packed into a six-week period, and it can't be denied that the Australian players have had a gruelling schedule. But after only managing to share the spoils with New Zealand in the two tests that make up the Trans-Tasman trophy, they got themselves back on track with a convincing Test series victory against India and followed that up by winning the Commonwealth Bank series best-of-three final against Sri Lanka.

Australia were always going to be strong at home against an Indian side that travels about as well as a baby with colic.

But in order to return to the days when they ruled the cricketing world, our colonial cousins have to start dominating on foreign soil.

If the West Indies produce lacklustre and laid-back performances against Shane Watson's men in the one-day series, they will be shown no mercy. A 5-0 whitewash could well be on the cards and many Betfairians think this is the probable outcome with odds in the region of [4.2] likely to be the best available.