CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

Sydney-Courtney Walsh has not said anything but, just in case, a grand party is being planned.

The perfect send-off gift from his West Indies team-mates would be a victory to end Australian's match-winning streak in Test cricket, in what is sure to be Walsh's final Test Down Under.

The Windies are rated long, long odds to beat Australia in the fifth and final Test at the SCG, which will be Walsh's last Test appearance in Australia.

He has already played 24 Tests in Australia, ranking him second only to the Lord Sir Colin Cowdrey (27) for Tests played in the country by a foreign player.

Walsh has enjoyed plenty of success in those 24 Tests, but none this summer as the Windies lurched from one disaster to the next while Australia surged to an unbroken 14-match winning streak.

Walsh has taken nine wickets in four Tests, pushing him to 492 Test victims. The 38-year-old should reach the 500 milestone in the Windies' home series against South Africa in March-if he decides to play on.

He hasn't said anything yet.

"When it comes to trying to find out what plans Courtney has for the next month or two, I'll just wait and see what happens," Windies captain Jimmy Adams said.

"But to have Courtney here in the first place has been a really big help for the team. He's a very comforting presence-it's like having a grandfather around keeping a lid on things.

"Despite not getting as many wickets, he has done a really admirable job when he has bowled. To get a Test win, not only for Courtney but for everyone, would be a great event given what has gone before."

He later forged a lethal partnership with Curtly Ambrose, taking 373 of his wickets during 95 Tests with the beanpole right-armer from Antigua.

"It's great to have him here at this stage helping to pull the team through a very difficult stage," Adams said. "I don't think it's been easy for him, but those of us who have known Courtney over the years know that his heart is one of the biggest in world cricket. These are challenges he has risen to every year of his career.

"At a time when other people would have thrown in the towel he is still keeping up a very, very high standard which is a credit to him."

Australian crowds have always paid Walsh plenty of respect, with the Melbourne crowd paying him an extended ovation last week when he left the MCG for the final time.

© The Barbados Nation