By Colin Benjamin in Trinidad and Tobago
Despite positive intent from both West Indies and Australia to force a win, persistent rain dented these ambitions on the final day of the second Digicel Test at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad, yesterday.
Needing 215 to win their first live rubber test match in a series against Australia since Brian Lara’s 213 led the West Indies to a 10-wicket triumph in 1999 at Kingston, Jamaica, the home side aided by a cameo from captain Darren Sammy of 30 (26 balls, 4×4, 16) finished on 53/2 off 11 overs – before rain brought the contest to a premature draw.
Kemar Roach for his match haul of 10 for 156 was adjudicated Player-of-the-Test. His efficient bowling effort is the first such by a West Indies bowler since Corey Collymore did so in the Kingston 2005 Test versus Pakistan and the first time versus Australia since Curtly Ambrose in the Adelaide test in 1993.
The gripping final day’s play that resumed with the visitors on 73/3 with a lead of 127, commenced with disaster for Australia with Victorian fast-bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle being ruled out of the test and series respectively due to back problems.
Added to this, the opening session was delayed by 45 minutes, with umpires Ian Gould and Marias Erasmus not satisfied with the state of the outfield which still had wet patches from the showers on Wednesday afternoon.
The first ball was eventually bowled at 10:15, and Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke in the face of some tight West Indies bowling crawled to 16 runs in the initial seven overs, as the innings stagnated on 89/3 in the 37th over.
Next over, Ponting scored the first boundary of the morning, when he flicked Fidel Edwards down to the fine leg boundary.
Two balls later Ponting who was 23 runs away from equalling India’s Rahul Dravid as the batsman with the second highest run aggregate in test cricket, perished pulling Edwards to Kieron Powell on the backward square-leg boundary leaving Australia on 93/4 in 40th over with the lead at that stage just 147.
After bowling just four of the last 120 overs of Australia’s two batting innings combined over the last three days (63 overs of Australian’s batting from the 112th over of 1st innings to 41st of 2nd innings) captain Sammy finally decided to use the red-cherry.
With his seventh ball of the day, it became 95/4, as he poached his opposite number with a superb reaction return catch to a delivery that seemingly stopped after pitching. This resulted in the Ponting pushing early into a drive that stuck in Sammy’s left palm.
Run scoring continued to be laborious for the left-handed pair of Michael Hussey and the wicket-keeper, as they scored another 28 runs in the next dozen overs before lunch with Australia at 123/5 after 55 overs, the lead at 177.
The biggest action of this quiet period of play was two attempted pull shots by Wade off Sammy when he was on 9 and 15 respectively, which fell agonizingly short of wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh jr., diving forward.
Hussey and Wade immediately showed intentions of a shift in momentum for the visitors as the afternoon session began.
First ball delivered by off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine was hit straight over long-off, into the second tier of the Sir Learie Constantine stand. He followed that up with a hard slog-sweep for four to the mid-wicket fence, to complete an over that fetched them 12 runs.
During a press conference on Wednesday, opener Ed Cowan said that Australia were willing to risk defeat in order to win the match and Hussey’s assault seemed to confirm this tactic, as Australia began to pace the innings in one-day international style, in order to set up a suitable declaration.
However the West Indies and Roach were having none of that, as he struck twice in the 59th over.
Soon after they had posted their 50-run partnership, Roach claimed his ninth wicket of the match, bowling Hussey for 24 (47 balls, 2×4, 1×6) off the inside edge, then two balls later Ben Hilfenhaus’s stumps went for a walk, as the Bajan speedster completed his “Double Michelle” – leaving Australia at 149/7 – in the 59th over – with the lead just past the 200 mark.
Shane Shillingford then had Nathan Lyon caught by Sammy running back from slip, which resulted in Clarke making the surprise declaration at 1:12 pm with the score on 161/8. This declaration was odd for the simple fact that Australia was a bowler short.
The 11 frenetic overs West Indies faced before bad light and rain suspended play was the combination of wickets, runs and potential match-winning tactical ingenuity from Sammy.
Out of form Kieron Powell was promoted to open with Adrian Barath in a clear sign the home side was going after the target. Powell eased a full-toss – the fifth ball of the opening over from left-arm spinner Michael Beer to the cover fence.
He didn’t last long though as next over Hilfenhaus trapped him leg-before to a sharp in-swinger, although the Australians’ celebrations was delayed due to Powell wasting the (DRS) review, to check if he could be granted another life at the crease.
With overhead conditions that became very appreciably overcast, Hilfenhaus, a clinical exponent of swing in such circumstances – was begging to come into his element.
Barath became his second victim when he edged a big out-swinger which Clarke accepted gleefully at first slip, leaving the home side in early strife on 13/2.
Sammy who promoted himself to number three in the face of this early setback – responded with a brave counter-attack.
He spanked Shane Watson for two boundaries off his first two deliveries with a lovely on-drive and a cultured slog over the top – to the extra cover boundary.
14 runs were then taken off the seventh over from Hilfenhaus as the West Indies captain moved into Twenty20 mode. Two muscular pull shots were banged ferociously to the mid-wicket fence and then a lofted six to long-off was hit, which substitute fielder Peter Forrest running back some 20 metres from deep mid-off, almost grasped.
In the last over before the break, Sammy padded up to a Beer “arm-ball” that the Australians appealed vociferously for – but were turned down by umpire Gould – and Clarke declined to review.
At 2:10 the umpires and the respective captains consulted firstly to come off the field due to the increasingly poor light and almost immediately as they left the field – the heavens opened up – bringing an end to this rain marred test.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA 1st Innings 311
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 257
AUSTRALIA 2nd Innings
(overnight 73 for three)
E Cowan lbw b Roach 20
D Warner c Bravo b Roach 17
S Watson b Roach 0
R Ponting c Powell b Edwards 41
*M Clarke c & b Sammy 15
M Hussey b Roach 24
+M Wade not out 31
B Hilfenhaus b Roach 0
N Lyon c Sammy b Shillingford 3
Extras (b4, lb1, w1, nb3) 9
TOTAL (8 wkts dec; 61.5 overs) 160
Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Warner), 2-26 (Watson), 3-57 (Cowan), 4-93 (Ponting), 5-95 (Clarke), 6-145 (Hussey), 7-149 (Hilfenhaus), 8-160 (Lyon)
Bowling: Edwards 10-2-28-1, Shillingford 23.5-4-55-1, Roach 18-4-41-5, Sammy 8-0-17-0, Deonarine 2-0-14-0.
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings (Target: 215)
A Barath c Clarke b Hilfenhaus 5
K Powell lbw b Hilfenhaus 4
*D Sammy not out 30
D Bravo not out 8
Extras (b6) 6
TOTAL (2 wkts, 11 overs) 53
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Powell), 2-13 (Barath)
Bowling: Beer 4-1-10-0, Hilfenhaus 4-0-22-2, Watson 3-1-15-0.
Result: Match drawn.
Series: Australia lead three-match series 1-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Kemar Roach.
Toss: Australia.
Umpires: Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould; TV – Tony Hill
