Considering the state of the match, the probability of the Australians asking their guests to return to bat for a second time at some stage on day three is neither remote nor unlikely. The follow on target is 280 and the Windies are a healthy 146 runs away with five wickets in the tank. Overall the Caribbean side trail Australia by a mammoth 346 with just the bowlers remaining to bat.
Travis Dowlin – not out on a typically fighting 40 – and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin – counterpunching with an almost run-a-ball 22 – are at the crease and represent the last realistic hope for a significant revival to delay what looks, even at this relatively early stage, to be panning out into an inevitable Australian victory.
After the Australian declaration and with six overs to face before tea, the West Indian run chase commenced in fifth gear courtesy of the unabashed power hitting of captain, Chris Gayle. He muscled the 22 deliveries he faced before the interval for 27 runs and 16 of those came from boundaries – three trademark crunching Gayle cover drives and a whip off the hip. Then the score was 41 without loss and Adrian Barath – the 19 year old debutant – was on 11.
Quickly after tea, the Australians began to make inroads and cripple Windies. Ben Hilfenhaus who was hit explosively through covers by Gayle exacted revenge when he got one to straighten and trapped the Windies captain lbw. Gayle (31 from 43 balls with 5 fours) ill advisedly used one of his two allotted Decision Reviews only to delay his departure for two minutes or so.
Forty-nine for 1 quickly became 49 for 2 with Barath (15) following his skipper into the dressing room.
It was an eventful start for the little Trinidadian. First he was
caught behind by Brad Haddin off a Peter Siddle no ball. But he failed to capitalize on the reprieve, steering Mitchell Johnson’s (12-3-45-2) left arm pace low to Shane Watson at third slip.
Siddle then landed the big fish in the Windies line up. In similar fashion to how Hilfenhaus removed Gayle, Siddle dismissed Chanderpaul for 2.
When the decision was given, Chanderpaul, knowing the immense value of his wicket and – like Gayle – suspecting that the ball may have pitched outside the line of the leg stump utilized the last of the two reviews but still had to return to the pavilion. 58 for 3 in the 17th over and the wheels were coming off the Windies reply.
Then the Windies camp made what turned out to be a tactical error.
Instead of sending home boy Brendan Nash they opted for Bravo – perhaps not wanting to expose another left-hander to the right arm fast bowlers’ probing line.
Bravo – who could not have had adequate rest after his marathon 32 overs first innings spell – walked to and fro in the space of a few minutes. He made a duck, facing only two deliveries, edging the second – delivered by Johnson – to Watson at third slip.
63 for 4 in the 18th over and there was no doubt that the Windies were in a hole, especially since one of their key batsmen – Ramnaresh Sarwan – was on the injury list and their lead fast bowler – Jerome Taylor – is not able to bowl having picked up a hip injury. Dowlin fought through but had been grassed by Ponting when he was on 7. He stood helplessly at the non-striker’s end watching the procession to the pavilion. Nash made an able ally for a brief period of respite and the pair added 33 before Nash (18) indulged in fatal indiscretion.
The Queensland bred left-hander saw a lifting short ball from Watson and tried to upper cut it to the boundary. He underestimated Watson’s pace and got a meaty edge to Haddin. 96 for 5 in the 30th over and the wind had been sucked out of the West Indian sails.
Dowlin was neither fluent nor authoritative but the 32 year-old, playing in only his third Test, battled doggedly. Initially, he nervously flailed at wide deliveries outside off stump and flirted dangerously against the Aussie quicks but he survived until the end by which time he had grown in confidence.
Two of Ramdin’s three boundaries were so sweetly driven down the ground, legendary former Australian wicketkeeper cum television commentator, Ian Healy, earmarked him as a great West Indian wicketkeeper/batsman in the making. It was high praise Ramdin deserves but the specific assignment before him is monumental.
He and Dowlin – playing in only his third Test and only due to Sarwan’s injury – will set themselves small targets on the third day as they look to chip away at the follow on target. Even achieving that is a tall order.
In the first two sessions of the day, the Australians – who started on 322 for 5 – systematically laid their foundation as Marcus North (79) and Nathan Hauritz (50*) registered the fourth and fifth fifties of the innings. North played a composed hand before he was caught behind off Bravo and Hauritz was allowed to complete his maiden half century before the declaration came.
The Windies picked up three wickets on the day – North, Haddin (38) and Johnson (7) – as Bravo took 3 for 118 and Ramdin bagged five catches in the innings.
North, the left hander and Hauritz who played with pugnacious abandon put on 60 for the eight wicket and Hauritz partnered Siddle (20) for another 36 runs before Ponting declared. Sulieman Benn took 2 for 86 from 34 overs and there was a wicket apiece for Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul and the injured Taylor, who only bowled nine overs in the 135 over innings.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA 1st innings
(overnight 322 for five)
S Watson lbw b Taylor 0
S Katich c wkp Ramdin b Bravo 92
*R Ponting c wkp Ramdin b Roach 55
M Hussey c & b Benn 66
M Clarke c Gayle b Bravo 41
M North c wkp Ramdin b Bravo 79
+B Haddin c wkp Ramdin b Rampaul 38
M Johnson c wkp Ramdin b Benn 7
N Hauritz not out 50
P Siddle not out 20
Extras (b2, lb9, w1, nb20) 32
TOTAL (8 wkts decl; 135 overs) 480
Did not bat: B Hilfenhaus.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Watson, 2.1 overs), 2-126 (Ponting, 27.5), 3-200 (Katich, 48.1), 4-253 (Hussey, 65), 5-287 (Clarke, 79.3), 6-371 (Haddin, 104.5), 7-386 (Johnson, 111.2), 8-444 (North, 124.5)
Bowling: Taylor 9-2-43-1 (w1, nb4), Roach 25-4-76-1 (nb6), Rampaul 26-4-110-1 (nb10), Bravo 32-4-118-3, Benn 34-5-86-2, Gayle 9-0-36-0.
WEST INDIES 1st innings
*C Gayle lbw b Hilfenhaus 31
A Barath c Watson b Johnson 15
T Dowlin not out 40
S Chanderpaul lbw b Siddle 2
D Bravo c Watson b Johnson 0
B Nash c wkp Haddin b Watson 18
+D Ramdin not out 22
Extras (b1, lb3, nb2) 6
TOTAL (5 wkts, 39 overs) 134
To bat: J Taylor, S Benn, R Rampaul, K Roach.
Fall of wickets: 1-49 (Gayle, 12.3 overs), 2-49 (Barath, 13.5), 3-58 (Chanderpaul, 16.5), 4-63 (Bravo, 17.3), 5-96 (Nash, 29.2).
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 11-5-33-1, Siddle 7-3-27-1 (nb2), Johnson 12-3-45-2, Watson 5-0-14-1, Hauritz 4-2-11-0.
Position: West Indies trail by 346 runs.
Toss: Australia.
Umpires: Asad Rauf, I Gould; TV – M Benson.
