Write us off at your peril.
That was the warning from defiant West Indies coach Phil Simmons despite more evidence to the contrary in their tour match in Brisbane on Thursday.
At stumps on day two, the Cricket Australia XI cruised to 4-245 to hold a two-run first-innings lead at the halfway mark of the tourists' one and only tour match before the first Test starts next Thursday.
A near full-strength Windies have been outclassed by a CA XI boasting six players on first-class debut.
Only rested pace spearhead Jerome Taylor is missing for the Windies.
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WA teenager Jake Carder (58), Queensland's Nick Stevens (46), Josh Inglis (44) and captain James Peirson (42 not out) took apart the Windies attack at Allan Border Field.
Windies captain Jason Holder had 2-41.
Earlier, Queensland quick Simon Milenko (5-76) helped oust the Windies for 243 after they resumed at 6-154.
It is enough to sound alarm bells for the third-last ranked Windies ahead of their three-Test series against world No.2 Australia.
Yet Simmons laughed off criticism of his young squad, saying England had already learned the hard way that they shouldn't be underestimated.
Simmons even suggested his inexperienced outfit would thrive on what seem inevitable barbs ahead of the opening Test in Hobart.
"That's the thing with young teams, it is easy for people to do that and write off teams," he said.
"I don't think take any notice of it. It might encourage us to do better and push ourselves.
"It's good when people do that. England did that at their peril."
In Simmons' first stint at the helm in May, the Windies upset England with a five-wicket third Test win at Barbados to level their series 1-1.
Back with the reins after missing their recent ill-fated tour of Sri Lanka due to a Windies board dispute, Simmons boldly claimed the omens were good for his unproven team.
He likened his Windies outfit to the one that were ambushed 5-1 in Australia in the summer of 1975-76.
Four short years later the Windies began an unbeaten Test streak that lasted an incredible 15 years, spanning 29 series.
That run was snapped by Australia in 1995 in the Caribbean.
The Windies have not been a Test force since, failing to win an overseas series against anyone except minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in 20 years.
"It is always going to be a challenge. Coming to Australia with a young team has always been trouble," Simmons said.
"In 1975-76 we had that but you saw where we went from there.
"Hopefully that is a good omen and we can follow from there."
The omens aren't too good at Brisbane.
