Australia Test captain Steve Waugh has said that "homesickness" could prove a major hurdle during his side's tour of the West Indies, starting next week.

"Realistically they (World Cup players) haven't had a lot of cricket so I don't think tiredness will be a factor. It's more the homesickness factor and being away from Australia. That's the toughest thing to overcome," said Waugh.

Waugh and opener Justin Langer are the two senior players who were not part of the World Cup winning Australian team in South Africa.

"They haven't played a lot of cricket in South Africa and when you've got downtime you tend to think about things more often and that will be the biggest hurdle for the side to get over."

The four-Test and seven one-day international series will challenge the stamina and mental strength of the players during one of the longest campaigns in Australian cricket history.

"They're basically going to be overseas for four months straight.

"It's been very continuous and a lot of the guys in the side now have family so the dynamics of the team have changed," Waugh was quoted as saying by an Australian web site.

Waugh also cautioned his teammates against taking the West Indians lightly. Australia won the last Test series between the two sides, crushing the West Indies 5-0 at home in 2000-01.

"They're one of the few sides in world cricket which are on the up," Waugh said.