By Scott Heinrich

Australia left the Caribbean doing cartwheels after a successful tour

On the face of it, nothing emerged from Australia's highly successful tour of the West Indies that we did not already know.

The Aussies are an awesome unit and victory in both the Test and one-day series was expected of them.

But although results followed a predictable course, the tour itself was far from run-of-the-mill.

From Shivnarine Chanderpaul's third-fastest Test century, to the Windies' staggering win in the fourth Test to Australia's capitulation at the end of the one-dayers, this was a battle that did not always go the tourists' way.

So what can Australia take home with them from their long spell in the Caribbean?

The bedraggled unit that were hammered in the final one-dayer showed Australia to be susceptible to burn-out like anybody else.

But of greater significance is the fact Australia still suffer from an inability to motivate themselves for "meaningless" matches.

If weariness was to blame for the dropped Test in Antigua, then Australia performed an almighty recovery act to clean up the one-day series 4-0 before losing the last three dead rubbers.

Otherwise, Australia's occasional failures could be explained by the palpable truth that their second stringers are not nearly as good as their first-choice colleagues.

Cricket came a distant second as McGrath missed the first two Tests to be with wife Jane

Spin bowlers Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill together do not add up to Shane Warne, and an attack minus Glenn McGrath is simply not the same.

We learned that cricket is not the most important thing in life to McGrath, who missed the first two Tests to be with his ill wife.

But upon his return it was the ageing fast bowler who was forced to learn a lesson.

His finger-pointing histrionics in Antigua were ugly and not the sort of image world champions would want to portray.

To his credit, McGrath later apologised to Ramnaresh Sarwan and admitted regret.

After years of dishing it out, maybe in McGrath's advancing years he has realised that taking it is also part of the game.

That was not an isolated altercation, as at various other times Brian Lara found himself face to face with members of the Australian team, including opposite number Steve Waugh.

The other incidents were largely tame, but it showed that the calculating Aussies knew where the danger lay.

Lara again made runs, but in the underrated Andy Bichel he might have found a new nemesis.

The future Test captain of Australia matured further in the West Indies

Bichel claimed his scalp four times in the Test series and three times in the one-dayers.

Bichel was retained for the final two Tests after McGrath's return, forming one quarter of a four-pronged pace attack.

On the dead track of Barbados the tactic worked a treat, not so in Antigua where the Windies chased a world record total to prevent an unprecedented whitewash.

But Australia would probably have needed eight specialist bowlers to deny West Indies their destiny there, or at least Martin Love to hold the simple catch that would have removed Omari Banks for two.

Love appears to be at the crossroads of his still fledgling international career.

Ricky Ponting's illness in Antigua gave him his chance in the top-order, a chance he did not exactly devour with scores of 36 and two.

With the emergence of Michael Clarke in the one-dayers it could be that Love's chance has passed.

Darren Lehmann enjoyed an international renaissance and deserved his maiden Test ton, but he could also come under pressure from Clarke, unless Steve Waugh retires in the near future.

Whether Waugh goes sooner or later is of little concern to Ponting, who will succeed him.

He displayed a developing maturity as skipper of the one-day side, and is probably having too much fun as a batsman in Tests to be in a hurry to take over that captaincy.

The man of the Test series, Ponting is finally showing the consistency that has precluded him from being mentioned in the same breath as Lara and Tendulkar.

He is now in that league, and above all else Australia can take their weary bones home in the knowledge their future is in good hands.