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Day 3: West Indies face uphill task

PORT OF SPAIN - When the West Indies walked off the field at Queen's Park Oval yesterday, captain Brian Lara, as he did so often recently in South Africa, looked to the heavens in what, as it was in the land of the Proteas, could only be a plea for help.

At stumps on the third day of the opening Test against Australia, the scoreboard read, Australia 269 and 227 for seven when bad light stopped play at 5.57 with 10 overs to go, the West Indies 167, and with the Aussie lead, built on a glorious century innings of 106 by Mark Slater, already 329, the once mighty Windies were looking down the barrel.

Although, thanks to their bowlers and with Lara around, it is not impossible, especially if they can wrap up the Australia innings quickly this morning, it is unlikely that the West Indies can win the match or draw it - not with a record of below 300 runs in each of their last 10 innings, and not after failing to bat out a day in their previous five Test matches.

To make matters worse, the West Indies will be batting last on a pitch which is assisting spin, a pitch on which the bounce of the ball has become unpredictable - and on top of that they will be up against right-arm legspinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, and pacer Glen McGrath who, following on his six for 47 in a losing cause here in 1995, preened himself with five for 50 off 14 overs in the first innings.

That may be why Lara looked to the heavens yesterday- a day when the players were forced off the field on two occasions because of slight drizzles. Yesterday's interruptions did not help his cause, and he probably was praying, not for more drizzles, but for rain showers, and plenty of it - at least for a day.

Hope springs eternal, and although it was highly improbable, when play resumed yesterday with the home team on 167 for nine, the West Indies were hoping that Mervyn Dillon and Courtney Walsh would spring a surprise and, as Jason Gillespie and McGrath did onto them on the second morning, defy the Australians for a while.

That, however, was not only not to be, but they did not even add a run. McGrath bowled Dillon with the last delivery of the first over as the West Indies, who lost the previous six wickets for the addition of only 18 runs in 11.3 overs at the tail-end of the second day, made it seven for 18 off 12 overs - the last five falling for four runs with those runs coming not off the bat, but from a MacGill legspinner which beat Roland Holder, beat wicketkeeper Ian Healy, and went away for byes.

With Australia leading by 102 runs, not even the Concrete Posse, their most ardent fans in Trinidad and Tobago, gave the West Indies a chance to get back into the game.

To their credit, however, the West Indies, probably recalling their many great moments at the Oval, probably remembering, not so much the third Test in 1995 when they routed Australia for a second innings 105, but more so 1994 when they nailed England for 46 in the second innings of the third Test, made a brave effort to stay in the contest with some fine bowling at the start of Australia's second innings and right after tea when they removed the Waugh twins in seven deliveries.

In his third over, Walsh removed Matthew Elliot for zero at six for one - the left-hander driving and edging a catch straight to Dave Joseph at second slip; and immediately after lunch, in the 21st over, Dillon took care of Justin Langer for 24 at 45 for two - the left-hander driving and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.

In the first over after tea, with Australia cruising along at 126 for two and Slater and Mark Waugh in command, Curtley Ambrose removed Mark Waugh for 33 at 126 for three in the 47th over - the batsman playing across the line and going leg before wicket; and next over, left-hander Pedro Collins made it 127 for four when he slanted a delivery across Steve Waugh, nicked the outside edge of a defensive bat, and the reliable Jacobs did the rest.

In between, however, Slater and Mark Waugh batted beautifully, and afterwards Slater was brilliant.

In ticking off the first century of the series, his first in five Tests against the West Indies, and the 12th in his 46th Test, the 29-year-old batsman stroked and smashed 12 boundaries off 205 deliveries before, like Greg Blewett in the final over, he charged left-arm spinner James Adams, swung across the line, missed the gentle floater, was stumped, and went away smiling.

In a scintillating display during which the second 50 came off 75 deliveries, Slater drove, cut, pulled and hooked with relish as he stepped into the 70s with a hook off Collins, into the 80s with a pull and a cut off successive deliveries from Mervyn Dillon, and into the 90s and onto 100 with three boundaries in four deliveries off Walsh.

Day 4: West Indies sink to new low

Final score: Australia 269 and 261, West Indies 167 and 51.

PORT OF SPAIN - The West Indies' dream of a winning start in their bid for a quick and spirited revival of their fortunes following their 5-0 defeat in South Africa ended in disaster at Queen's Park Oval yesterday when they not only lost the first Test against Australia by a whopping 312 runs with well over a day to spare, but were also destroyed for their lowest total ever.

Set a victory target of 364 with 76 overs and a day to get the runs, the West Indies were blasted out for 51 runs in a mere 19.1 overs by pacers Glen McGrath and Jason Gillespie who finished with figures of five for 28 off 10 overs and four for 18 off 9.1 respectively.

In a batting performance which left the small Monday morning gathering stunned and embarrassed, the once mighty West Indies, who lost the last five in their first innings for four runs in 19 deliveries, lost their first five wickets for 16 runs in 11.1 overs all five going for 13 runs in the space of 23 deliveries, and despite the interruption of rain at that point, never even hinted of a face-saving recovery.

On the same ground on which they routed England for 46 in the second innings of the third Test in 1994, and Australia for 105 in the second innings of the third Test in 1995, the West Indies, whose worse performance was 53 against Pakistan at Faislabad in 1986-87, crashed to their lowest total against Australia - 78 in Sydney 1951-52, and to their lowest in the Caribbean - 102 against England at Bourda 1934-35.

Starting the day with Australia on 227 for seven, leading by 329, and their hands on the trigger, the West Indies, after an inauspicious start and thanks to their warrior fast bowlers Courtney Walsh, four for 71 off 25.2 overs, and Curtley Ambrose, two for 25 off 18, limited the target to what the local fans, to whom all things are possible once their idol Brian Lara is around, believed was possible.

That, however, was wishful thinking, and the Test - a match which looked like it would have been a contest early on the opening day was over in the twinkling of an eye.

After seven overs during which they took aim as the Windies struggled to three without loss, McGrath and Gillespie opened fire, cut down the Windies who were like lambs to the slaughter, and left their fans dancing in celebration.

In an innings during which right-arm legspinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill did not even bowl a delivery, on a day which many of their fans described as the most humiliating time of their lives, the West Indies lost 10 wickets in 11.4 overs, and although the bounce of the ball was somewhat unpredictable, that had nothing to do with it. It was simply bad batting against a pair of bowlers who bowled fast and well.

Gillespie, bowling from the pavillion end, fired the first shot when Sherwin Campbell, on the backfoot and failing to move his feet, edged to Mark Waugh at second slip at three for one, and McGrath made it eight for two in the following over when Dave Joseph, surprised by a nasty kicker while going onto the backfoot, edged to Shane Warne at first slip.

Based on the Windies recent performances, that was no cause for alarm. That was simply par for the course.

The first sign that the West Indies were heading for the worst day of their lives came in the following over when Lara, after bringing down the house with a lovely ondrive off McGrath, was on his way - the left-hander going forward to Gillespie and edging a comfortable catch to Mark Waugh at second slip.

That was 11 for three, Adams, reaching forward but keeping both feet in the crease, was leg before wicket to McGrath for five at 16 for four in the following over, and when Suruj Ragoonath, in a baptism of fire, was leg before wicket for two at 16 for five in the following over from Gillespie, the West Indies were sinking fast.

The rain, which the West Indies were probably praying for since the third afternoon, and which the fans were certainly hoping would save their team, then sent the players off the field. It did not last enough to deny Australia, however, and 42 minutes and eight overs later when Gillespie ripped out Pedro Collins middle stump, it was all over. The one man who died with his boots on was Ridley Jacobs. In an innings during which no other batsman reached double figures, but for his 19 runs, before he was ninth out leg before wicket to McGrath after striking two of the team's three boundaries, and nine overthrows, it would have been a total catastrophe.