Brian Lara should become the leading run scorer in Test history some time in the next month or so but only a couple more innings of genius from the West Indian in the next few days will enable him to do it at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where he plays for the World XI in the six-day Super Test which begins tomorrow.
Tests between Australia and West Indies are scheduled for Brisbane, Hobart and Adelaide in November but should there be a pay-off from the extra net sessions Lara has been putting in this week - he needs 357 more runs to pass Australia's former captain Allan Border- as he prepares to face them on a wicket which is traditionally a paradise for spin bowlers, his target is achievable sooner rather than later.
"I am short of competitiveness," admitted Lara, who scored five runs in the three one-day defeats in Melbourne. "I have not played [Test cricket] since a series against Pakistan in June. It was always going to be tough coming up against the best team in the world to get runs right away, especially in the one-day arena.
"With that behind me and a couple more practice sessions and a version of the game I'm more comfortable with, Test cricket, I can get my act together. More of your natural ability comes out in Test cricket and I'm looking forward to it."
In a throwback to the days of gentlemen and players, four front-line spinners will be on show, with Shane Warne being joined by his understudy Stuart MacGill in the Australian side and the World XI fielding a team which includes Muttiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori.
Muralitharan has 563 Test wickets, 60 fewer than Warne, but has not played a Test in Australia since 1995 when the umpire Darrell Hair called him seven times for throwing. The Sri Lankan vowed never to return after the prime minister John Howard subsequently called him "a chucker" but he did so earlier this year to play in the tsunami benefit match. "It's a big challenge for me to do well here," the Sri Lankan said. "I only played two previous matches and got 300 runs for three wickets . . . hopefully my performance will be better than that."
Vettori has played in one-day matches at the SCG for New Zealand but never a Test, and says he can hardly wait for this one to begin. "We normally get a couple down in Hobart, maybe one in Perth, so Sydney's a bit of a marquee event for us."
The World captain Graeme Smith also has Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff at his disposal as the side attempt to put the woeful displays of their one-day counterparts behind them, with Warne backing the team to improve. "The true indication of cricket is a Test match because the best side will always win and the best players will always shine through," he said."If you bowl some bad overs or don't get the rub of the green for a while you can get it back: over time, if you do well consistently, you will get runs or take wickets."
Proceeds from Saturday's play will go to the relief fund for the south Asian earthquake, with the ICC expecting to donate £340,000 through an initiative with the Australian Red Cross. Supporters can also pledge online by visiting www.redcross.org.au or by telephone in Australia.