``All in all, I think the team is going to gain something positive out of this, which is most important,'' Lara said.

``We can't dwell too much on negatives. We are one-nil down.''

``I know it is easier said than done but if we get 300-350 on the board we are going to be competitive because the bowlers seem to be able to be doing their job.''

``I think it is important for myself and West Indies cricket that I try my best to solve my batting problems and see how best I can go out and get similar scores like I used to four years ago,'' Lara said.

Lara, himself, is on probation as captain and his position will be reviewed after the first two Tests, although a likely replacement is not immediately apparent. Tony Cozier, the respected Barbadian commentator and writer, said the positions ofmanager Clive Lloyd and coach Malcolm Marshall were also in jeopardy.

Cozier also criticised the West Indies Cricket Board decision to put Lara on probation. ``Either he was their man or he wasn't,'' Cozier said. ``If they were going to replace him they should have bitten the bullet.''

SYDNEY, MARCH 9: The strength of the current Australian cricket team can be gauged by questions about champion leg-spinner Shane Warne's place in the world's Number One Test team, former skipper Mark Taylor said today.

Australia routed the once-great West Indies for 51 to seal a crushing 312-run victory in the first Test in Trinidad yesterday, giving Steve Waugh a dream debut as Test captain.

Taylor, who retired after Australia won a sixth straight Ashes series last January, said the four-day win in Port of Spain was a combination of Australia's current strength and West Indian woes.

``It's not the worst ever West Indies team, that's a harsh comment (but) they're playing a very good Australian side,'' Taylorsaid.

``There's talk in Australia of leaving Shane Warne out of a Test match -- well that's just unheard of.

``No other country in the world could afford to make that sort of comment, but that's how strong Australian cricket is at the moment.''

Warne, the new Australian vice-captain and the taker of 313 Test wickets, is under some pressure to retain his position in the side on pitches that don't favour spin bowling after going wicketless in the first Test while fellow leggie Stuart MacGill continued his meteoric rise with three first-innings wickets.

``There were times in the game when the West Indies had the chance of putting the pressure on and taking the initiative but every time it got to that sort of stage of the game Australia grabbed it,'' said Taylor.

``It's a great result once again for Australia and it could herald the side for the rest of the series. I think they're going to be very, very hard to beat.''

Taylor said the West Indies were struggling without leading batsmen Carl Hooper andShivnarine Chanderpaul, whose absence further increased the pressure on beleaguered skipper Brian Lara.

Hooper may return: West Indies batsman Carl Hooper said he may make himself available for the third Test against Australia, pending the latest medical results for his sick baby son.

Hooper said he had felt `torn in two' watching on television as the West Indies collapsed yesterday to their worst Test match total of 51.

But he said at the moment he did not want to be so far away from his Australian wife Connie Tambakis and their son who is being treated in Adelaide for an undisclosed medical condition.

``I want to make sure in my heart everything is okay here or at least it looks all right... and if all goes well, hopefully I'll be back for the third Test,'' Hooper said.

Hooper rejected reports he had been given an ultimatum by the West Indies Board to return and said he believed the Board understood his decision and would welcome him back to the side. However, he said he did not regard hisselection as given.

Hooper defended captain Brian Lara who is under pressure over the side's first Test performance and recent rout against South Africa, saying the captaincy was not the real problem.

``I think Brian is a good captain, what he needs now is the support not only of the Board but of fellow players,'' he said.

Hooper said he believed the West Indies could be going through a normal slump in form, just as Australia had some years ago, although they may have become complacent at their peak.

``I don't know if we took it for granted and laid back and didn't pay much attention to develop the youth in the Caribbean and we're just paying the price right now,'' Hooper said.

``When you start losing, sometimes it is very difficult to pull yourself out of the rut,'' he said, adding the side had good young players but they might not be up to Test form.