Australia prepared for trial by bounce and Chris Gayle as West Indies strive for consistency

Two of the early World Cup contender clash in a repeat of the 1975 final with explosive batting and aggressive bowling set to be the order of the day

The repeat of any World Cup final can't help but evoke memories of yesteryear, and when Australia face West Indies at Trent Bridge the emotions will be no different.

Though the contest in Nottingham promises to be played in a far more orderly fashion than when the two nations met in the inaugural 1975 final, it will no less intense, pulsating or indeed, chaotic.

That is partly thanks to the West Indies' display in their opening World Cup game against Pakistan at the same venue last week, raising hope they could make a run to a third title.

A bowling spell which could sit comfortably in any era of the Windies' history ripped through the Champions Trophy holders. Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Oshane Thomas were the tormentors in chief on a decked all three would want to role up and take around the tournament with them.

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Arguably however the most impressive feature of the display was the intensity and class in the field - there was only one drop of Babar Azam, which proved inconsequential - not normally a prevailing characteristic of the T20 world champions from 2016.

With the bat, they were typically flamboyant if not slight ungainly in their pursuit of 106 to win with Chris Gayle limping his way to a half-century. Despite those fireworks, there was little doubt that Nicolas Pooran stood out with a fine 34 from 19 balls.

They return to the home of Nottinghamshire in hope of repeating those heroics when Australia come to down. The holders may have won their opening game against Afghanistan but the rarely got out of second gear. In short, they might even be slightly undercooked.

The Afghans were guilty of overplaying their hand at times during the innings. Mitchel Starc breached Mohammad Shahzad's defences in the first over before Hazratullah Zazai edged Pat Cummins behind woefully.

^{Gayle was typically explosive on his way to a half century}

It is also true that there were some areas of concern. Adam Zampa took two middle-order wickets but went around at 7.50 an over - not the control Aaron Finch will have desired. As a result, and though it did not influence the result, they allowed Afghanistan to get away and post a respectable total. Other nations will be more clinical.

Finch was free-flowing on his way to 66 but got out when there was a century for the taking. The display which caused the most interest was that of the returning David Warner, playing his first full international for a year, who went into his shell in his search for form.

Warner never resisted from expressing himself fully during the Indian Premier League but looked all at sea in Bristol. By the end, he looked close to his fluent best but that was helped by the comfortable position Australia enjoyed. Once again, a more substantial opponent may provide a sterner test as his reintegration back into international cricket continues.

It says plenty about how impressive West Indies were in swatting away Pakistan that all the talk in the build-up to the game has been around how Australia are going to deal with the multitude of threats they pose. Whether it be the short ball or the explosive batting from Gayle and Pooran there are numerous areas of concern.

^{Warner played within himself in Australia's win over Afghanistan}

Finch admits there are plans in place to deal with Gayle, who averages less than 27 and is without a century in 31 innings against the five-time world champions. Similarly, Australia are also braced for a peppering with the ball, and with Wahab Riaz topping 92mph at times against England on this surface there is no reason why the trial by bumper won't continue.

However, a word of caution for anyone predicting a handsome Windies win. They are as capable of inflicting upon an opponent a whizz-bang victory as they are of being a victim of one themselves. The only thing the West Indies can ever be relied upon for is inconsistency. That is part of their attraction, and part of the frustration.

Either way, it promises to be a day of nostalgia - an old-fashion rivalry coupled with bowling from a bygone era - with exhilarating cricket at the fore. With Gayle, Russell, Warner, Finch, Smith, Starc and Holder on show this is surely a World Cup clash that can't disappoint.

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