PERTH, NOV 5: Upcoming West Indian batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who burst on first-class cricket scene as a 15-year-old on Sunday declared he was ready for Australia's ferocious pace attack in the five-Test series starting later this month.``Of course, I have not played against any of them yet, but I have seen Brett on television,'' he said, adding diplomatically, ``I don't want to make any comment on them, but of course I and all the other boys are looking forward to batting against them.''Sarwan looms as a key component in an inexperienced West Indies batting line-up which, despite his brilliant performance, crumbled during the England series, won 3-1 by the hosts.Sarwan was the youngest player in West Indies cricket when he made his debut for Guyana at the age of 15 years and 235 days.Former England captain Ted Dexter, who watched him batting in a recent game against Pakistan, predicted he had the class to finish with a Test average of 50, the mark of an outstanding Test batsman. While he has not played in Australia so far, he has had the advantage of spending a month earlier this year at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide, under the tutelage of former Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh.``That was pretty good,'' he said. ``We had a few net sessions on the turf there, and that helped me. I found the surface pretty good for batting. The ball comes on well to the bat.''Sarwan said in his earlier days his batting heroes were West Indians Brian Lara and Carl Hooper and Australia's Waugh brothers, Steve and Mark.``When I was younger I probably tried to copy Carl or Mark, but not any more,'' he said. ``Now I just try to be myself at all times.''Sarwan will not have to wait long for his first taste of Australia's champion pace battery: the first Test gets underway in Brisbane on November 23.His encounter with the fiery Brett Lee promises to be one of the highlights of the series.Lee, named International Young Cricketer of the Year in the year 2000, bowled the fastest ball ever recorded in international cricket in April, when one of his deliveries in a one-day clash against South Africa in Johannesburg measured a sizzling 156kph (96.89 mph).
