Wicket Is The Winner

Hussey made 73

In a day which lost 90 minutes to showers, batting became more difficult and a result more certain but the way forward may have been exposed by Mike Hussey and Darren Bravo.

Hussey and Matthew Wade began after a dour day on a dead pitch. Wade left in the second over, bamboozled by some Kemar Roach magic. After the previous ball bent past the inside edge and shaved the off stump, Roach sent one the other way and Wade's outside edge flew to Bravo at first slip. Rain came twice before lunch as James Pattinson and Hussey added 59 before. Pattinson combined a long stride forward with some luck and complete abstinence from any shot making. His first fifty deliveries contained only one boundary. At the other end, Hussey was his trademark busy self, milking runs from a tight attack.

More rain after lunch slowed things again and by drinks Australia was still only six down as they closed in on 300. However Hussey and Pattinson left in consecutive overs to the spinners Narsingh Deonarine and Shane Shillingford and as predicted here on thecricketragics, the house of cards which is the Australian tail was blown over by Roach who finished with five.

In the context of the state of the wicket, 311 may well prove to be an enormous target and the contributions of Hussey, Shane Watson and Michael Clarke masterpieces.

Michael Beer opened
the bowling in his
second Test

Clarke put his selections where his bowlers were and both his spinners - the real ones, not including Warner or Ponting - had started spells inside the first ten overs. Beer took the new ball with Hilfenhaus and Pattinson was left to second change. Hilfenhaus removed Kraigg Brathwaite in his second over with no runs on the board, the first of three lbw decisions. Beer got Barath, after review, with the cleverest of left hand orthodox tricks. Bowling around the wicket, he got prodigious, quick spin from Barath's middle stump to a first slip line one ball and then sent one back into his pads from outside off with the next. Pattinson cannoned his first delivery in the match onto Kieron Powell's pads and had his claims upheld. Powell left meekly, without reference to Bravo at the bowler's end. Even to the naked eye the ball looked to have pitched outside leg stump and so replays proved. DRS would have saved him but no one thought to ask.

Bravo, who really does bear a remarkable batting resemblance to Brian Lara, played several brave but clever shots down the ground to Beer and Lyon, who have both already had two spells in the 25 overs Australia has bowled. Pattinson and Hilfenhaus will be at best support cast, especially if Pattinson continues to bowl short. After getting a wicket by pitching up, he spent most of the rest of his short spell wasting the ball in his half.

The pitch looks deadly. Its keeping low and spinning sharply and Matthew Wade will be the hardest working Australian over the next few days. He was already diving this way and that and perhaps Steve Rixon should remind him he has feet.

Whatever happened to fast, bouncy Caribbean wickets?

Tragics Session Count: West Indies 1, Australia 5, Drawn 0