Melbourne–Australia captain Michael Clarke left for the Caribbean yesterday, with the rest of the Australia-based players and staff leaving today for their two-match series against the West Indies. Clarke was expected to link up with Peter Siddle and Adam Voges, who have been playing county cricket in the UK, in Miami before flying on to Antigua.
Australian players still involved in IPL action, including David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, will join the team when their Indian commitments are over.
Clarke said yesterday that he is not underrating the West Indies team, which just held England to a 1-1 draw in a three Test series in the Caribbean. The other match was drawn.
The Australian captain said he expects a tough series, with several young West Indian players looking to make a name for themselves. "They have a group of players who can do well and I expect them to give a tough performance."
The West Indies have named a strong President's XI side for a three-day warm-up match in Antigua starting in just 11 days' time.
The side is led by Test hopeful Leon Johnson.
Johnson, a 27-year-old left-hander from Guyana scored 54 and 44 in his last Test match, against the world No.1 Test team South Africa in Cape Town in January.
Johnson was left out of the West Indies team for their recent series against England and will be keen to force his way back into the reckoning against the Australians and improve on his record of four Tests.
Imran Khan, named for the Pakistan legend, will threaten with his leg-breaks, having taken 232 wickets at 22.46 in his first-class career.
Khan, from T&T, said he would be keen to exploit any Australian weakness against spin bowling and press his claims for a Test spot.
"If you perform well and address the selectors you can stake a claim to play for West Indies in one of the Test matches for the series. I think that is the ultimate goal of any cricketer...to play Test cricket and I am training hard for it and I hope I get an opportunity to flourish," said Khan.
"(Selection) is a great opportunity for me and I am one step closer to reaching one of my goals of playing for the West Indies.
"This is a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent and perform to the best of my ability to address the selectors.
"I was home just relaxing and (selector and former Test wicketkeeper) Courtney Browne called and said I was selected to the President's XI to play against Australia. It was a great feeling knowing that the hard work paid off and getting recognised at some point.
"It is going to be a really hard game against Australia which is one of the best teams in the world. It is going to be a very hard game and it will not be any ordinary regional game.
"It is an international game in my eyes against one of the world's toughest opponents. It is going to be tough and it is going to take a lot out of me but I just want to execute the basics and keep calm," he said.
Khan added that despite rising to prominence as a leggie, he saw his future in the West Indies team as a batsman.
"A lot of work goes into preparation in the off-season and during the season. I do a lot of bowling, batting, fitness work, weights," he said.
"I really like batting even though my bowling has been the stronger asset for the Red Force. Deep down inside I love batting and I think I can make it as a batsman."