Ponting wary of improved Windies

Australian captain Ricky Ponting doesn't believe his team will win the three Test series against the West Indies without a fight. The Australian team, which trained in Kingston, Jamaica ahead of their opening three-day match against a Jamaica XI on Friday, is keen to put aside views suggesting that it will be a one-sided contest in favour of Australia when the Test series begins from next week.

The first Test begins at Sabina Park on Thursday, May 22.

Ponting said he expected a more improved West Indian outfit this time than the one swept 3-0 in Australia in 2005-06.

"I don't think we'll lose the series, I think we'll win. But I expect it to be a pretty good tussle between two good teams," The Age quoted Ponting, as saying.

"It is always [tough] whenever you play an opposing team in their own country. You always expect them to lift ... they play in the conditions well. Besides that we know what we have to do, we know we have to play good cricket," he added.

"I think one of the things that has changed is their bowling. They're a lot better now ... certainly than the last time we played them," Ponting said.

Ponting pointed to the Windies performance in South Africa a few months ago as a guide to their improvement. The West Indies won the opening Test, their first win against a leading cricket nation on foreign soil for more than seven years - before losing a tight series 2-1.