Ian Chappell: "I keep hearing that West Indian players like playing for Chris Gayle but I am just not convinced that he is the right man to be leading them" © AFP

Australia take on West Indies for the Frank Worrell trophy with the first Test of the three Test series beginning in Brisbane on Thursday. The last time Australia played West Indies was in West Indies in 2008 with Australia winning that series 2-0. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. Australia, still in a transitionary phase following the retirements of some of their key players, lost to South Africa at home, lost the Ashes, and have slipped to No. 4 in the ICC Test rankings. West Indies are coming off the back of a players' strike, with a squad that is relatively inexperienced when it comes to playing in Australian conditions, and have played just one four-day warm-up game before the start of the first Test. Given this build-up, former Australia captain Ian Chappell believes this is a series Australia should easily win, a win that would go a long way in the lifting morale of a team still smarting from their Ashes series loss in England earlier this year.

Ian Chappell: The main thing that a series win would do for Australia is that it would be a bit of a confidence boost. Everybody is expecting them to win and I think they will win it pretty comfortably. It won't mean very much for the senior players apart from the fact that they will feel that the team is staring to gel a bit. But for some of the younger players like Shane Watson, the bowlers: Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, it will be an opportunity for them to perform well in a Test series at home which is not something some of those players have had the chance to do. So that I think will be a terrific confidence boost for them.

While Australia are expected to win, Cricinfo's Australasia editor Peter English believes that the team has some worries that they cannot gloss over.

Peter English: I think one of the weaknesses surrounds the young fast bowlers that Australia have: Johnson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus. They have been together for only a year. They started in South Africa; in England they got a lot of wickets but didn¹t win the important moments. Another thing is the batting of Michael Hussey. He scored a hundred at The Oval but went 16 or 17 Tests without a hundred before that. So even though he did well in the ODIs in India his form will be under scrutiny

But will West Indies be able to exploit these loopholes? Ian doesn¹t seem to think so.

IC: I don't know if West Indies have too much of firepower to expose too many weaknesses in the Australian side. Australia have struggled a bit against the swinging ball and they have struggled a bit when the ball turns. I don't think that West Indies have the spin bowlers. Suleiman Benn is a good bowler thought he might struggle under Australian conditions. I think Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach are couple of the best prospects for West Indies in this series. If they can bowl well particularly at the Gabba then they might make some inroads but I don't see them as having the firepower to get right through the Australian batting line-up cheaply and certainly not to do it twice.

West Indies' relative lack of Test experience in their bowling department, together with their unfamiliarity with Australian conditions will be their biggest worry, according to Peter and Ian.

PE: I think their bowling is their major concern. They have Taylor who is a seasoned international; they have Roach who bowled very well in the tour game against Queensland last week, but he is someone who is largely untested. This is his first year as an international; he is a 21-year old, he's very young, fit and fast. The Australians are wary about him. How the rest of the bowling line up fits depends on how easily the series is won or lost.

IC: I think it will be a general all-round weakness with West Indies. The one guy who I think could do it is a young guy Adrain Barath. Now if he happens to come in and do well and Chris Gayle gets away to a good start; then you have Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul who are classy players then they could end up with a total that would trouble Australia. But if they start losing wickets early particularly at the Gabba where there will be some swing early on, then I see some problems for West Indies.

According to Ian, this series could define the kind of captain Chris Gayle is.

IC: Gayle is a very important man for West Indies. But the problem with Gayle is,he turned up late in England and played as if he didn't want to be there and the rest if the side followed in the same vein. Now for totally different reasons and you can understand him dashing home when his mother is ill, he's unfortunately going to be in a similar situation where he just arrives in Australia and he has got to jump straight into a Test. Now if Gayle can't get better than that out of his side in Australia then the selectors will get panned for what will have been a bad decision to appoint him as captain. I keep hearing that West Indian players like playing for Gayle but I am just not convinced that he is the right man to be leading them after some of the things he said and the way he acted in England.

PE: I think he will have a huge role, both in attempting to unify the team following the strike and also deflecting the Australian bowlers at the top of the order. If he bats for two hours then he will make at least 80. West Indies need runs at the top of the order because it looks like Gayle's partner will be Barath who is an 18-year old. Gayle brings experience and power and he is somebody who frightens the Australians.

Australian selectors received a lot of flak for picking a four man pace attack and leaving out Nathan Hauritz at the Oval Test earlier this year a Test that Australia lost, giving up the Ashes with it. Both Ian and Peter believe three fast bowlers and a spinner will be the way to go for Australia this summer. In all likelihood Nathan Hauritz with 24 wickets in 7 Tests, will be that spinner, and according to Ian, he has done his bit to justify his inclusion.

IC: The bowler who I saw bowling for New South Wales in the Champions League was a far more confident performer than the guy I'd seen getting the odd game for Australia and then getting dropped 12 or 18 months ago. You might turn round and tell me that was Twenty20 and it was a whole lot different but there were some things that Hauritz did that showed me that he had a lot of confidence in his own ability. That confidence will apply whether he is playing the short version of the game or the long version of the game. I think Hauritz has probably done more than what was expected of him and I think he has earned the right to be the frontline spinner in the Australian side until he makes a mess of it.

	Ian Chappell: " I think Hauritz has probably done more than what was expected of him and I think he has earned the right to be the frontline spinner in the Australian side" © Getty Images

Another area of contention in the Australian side has been that of an opener to partner Simon Katich. Philip Hughes showed promise in South Africa but was dropped in England earlier this year. Shane Watson was then thrust into the unfamiliar role of an opener at Edgbaston, and with three half centuries in five innings, Watson has done his bit to secure his spot as an opening batsman, Ian believes.

IC: Shane Watson would have been entitled to have been very upset if he would have been moved out of the opening position. Having come in and opened at a time when Australia was in a bit of trouble in England, even though he was a fill-in opener, he did an extremely good job. To then turn around and push him down the order I think would have been unfair on him unless he wants to bat in the middle order and I haven't seen any suggestion from him that he is unhappy about opening the batting. You might want to talk about him as an allrounder somewhere down the track but at the moment I don¹t think you can get 10 or 15 overs out of him. I thought the way he played in the semis and the final of the Champions Trophy was a very good indication of here is a man who has grown in confidence and a lot of that confidence has come from opening in the Test arena.

With Australia expected to win this series; Ian believes that the time is right for the Australian selectors to experiment with a view to the future.

IC: What I am interested is the way the selectors go about choosing the side and I am thinking particularly about the Adelaide Test. I¹ve always believed that the Adelaide pitch is one where you need five bowlers now Australia have got a grand opportunity to do that and also do something exciting with their selection. I really like the look of legspinner Steven Smith from New South Wales. I think Australia will win comfortably against West Indies and I would like to see them be brave with their selection with a view not just to the Pakistan series but a bit further down the track because I think Smith is a very exciting prospect.

This is Akhila Ranganna for Cricinfo