What a difference a decade makes.
The oldest member of Australia's Test squad Adam Voges admits that 10 years ago at age 26, when most professional batsmen have hit their straps, he wasn't up to scratch.
"I am a better player now than what I was 10 years ago, no doubt about that," the 36-year-old right-hander told reporters in Hobart on Monday.
"I know my game a lot better and technically I'm a lot better than I was back then."
The West Australian, who made his Test debut in June on the West Indies tour, is now preparing to face the same opposition on home soil for the first of a three-Test series starting on Thursday in Hobart.
"If I had the same skill level and understanding of my game 10 years ago, hopefully my international career might have started a bit earlier," Voges said.
But the veteran insists his selection at a relatively old age is not a sign Australia is short of young batsman, citing state teammate Cameron Bancroft, 23, and Queensland's Matt Renshaw, 19, as just a couple of youngsters on the rise.
"I think there's enough young kids around the country getting the opportunity to push their case forward and again it's just about being able to score runs consistently at a first-class level," the veteran said.
Despite their poor recent Test record and last week's capitulation to a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane, Voges says Australia's batsmen will need to be wary of the Windies' bowling attack, particularly their pace quartet.
"It's a similar attack to what we faced over in the West Indies earlier this year," he said.
"It's an attack we need to respect and be wary of.
"In Jerome Taylor I think they've got a very good spearhead of their attack and a bit of pace with Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach who's had a bit of success here and Jason Holder as well."
