1st Test: West Indies v Australia at Georgetown, 10-14 Apr 2003 Wisden CricInfo Live Report

1st Test: West Indies v Australia at Georgetown, 10-14 Apr 2003
Freddie Auld

Australia 1st innings: Close Day 1,
West Indies 1st innings: Lunch - Day 1, Tea - Day 1,
Pre-game: Toss & Teams,

CHANDERPAUL CAN'T HALT THE TIDE
After three months of wall-to-wall one-dayers, it might have been expected that Test cricket would return to centre stage with relative calm and order. But the first day of the first Test at Georgetown provided enough thrills and spills for even the most impatient spectator. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s magnificent 69-ball hundred took the plaudits, but when the dust settled it was Australia who ended the day with a firm grip on the match.

That Australia took such a stranglehold was largely thanks to their assured batting in the final session, coupled with some indifferent batting from West Indies and three poor decisions from the umpires – the most crucial of which was that dished out to Brian Lara.

But it was Chanderpaul who won the hearts of his home crowd with the third fastest Test hundred (in terms of balls faced) at a time when West Indies appeared to be down and out. He came in to join Lara, who had looked at his imperious best during his brief stay, at 53 for 4, and within an over was the last recognised batsman as Lara departed.

Whereas Chanderpaul is renowned for dogged – some would say downright dull – rearguard actions, this time he attacked, and in style, unleashing a string of quite exquisite cuts, pulls and drives. None of the bowlers were spared, and so wayward were they that for an hour after lunch Australia were rendered impotent. Catches were dropped, overthrows given away and brows grew more furrowed as Chanderpaul and a hobbling Ridley Jacobs added 131 for the sixth wicket at six an over.

The support given by Jacobs was invaluable. He pulled a thigh muscle early on attempting an ambitious sweep off Stuart MacGill, and played almost all his innings on one leg and with severely limited mobility. And yet he kept his end up, and even produced the shot of the day, a towering drive off MacGill which cleared the triple-decker stand at long-on. If Chanderpaul’s innings was savage dissection, Jacobs’s was courageous determination.

The problem for West Indies was what happened either side of that stand as ten wickets fell for just 106 runs. The rot started as early as the fifth over when Devon Smith (3) was on the sharp end of the first dubious decision of the day (9 for 1), and an over later Daren Ganga was bowled for 0 by a ball which kept a little low (10 for 2). Lara, briefly threatening to unveil a masterpiece, needed someone to stay with him. Instead, Wavell Hinds holed out to Justin Langer at mid-off courtesy of an infuriatingly loose drive off Brad Hogg (47 for 3), and next ball Marlon Samuels edged to Matthew Hayden at first slip. But the hammer blow came in the next over when Lara was given leg-before for 26 (53 for 5). It was a dubious decision from Asoka de Silva, and it seemed set to usher in another humiliating capitulation.

But Chanderpaul and Jacobs fought back, and it took the afternoon drinks interval to end their resistance. Two balls after the break Chanderpaul fell leg-before to Andy Bichel trying to pull a ball which wasn’t short enough (184 for 5). The blow to his knee was sickening and he hobbled off to add to West Indies’ injury worries. Four balls later Vasbert Drakes sparred at Bichel and was excellently caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist low down to his right for 0 (184 for 6).

Merv Dillion’s spirited assault was cut short by the inconsitent MacGill – aided by another poor lbw decision from de Silva. He made 20 in a breezy eighth-wicket stand of 38 with Jacobs, and the last rites were completed after tea with the increasingly distressed Jacobs left high and dry.

Australia’s customary aggressive response was briefly checked when Hayden (10) paid for his own calling error, failing by inches to beat Drakes’s sharp pick-up and throw (37 for 1). But Langer and Ricky Ponting relentlessly ate into the deficit, and as the day drifted towards a close it was increasingly hard to see where a wicket was going to come from. The forecast of intermittent rain over the next four days already appeared to give West Indies their only hope of salvation.

CHANDERPAUL CAN'T HALT THE TIDE
Australia went to tea in control of the first Test at Georgetown, but the afternoon belonged to Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He launched a remarkable counterattack, bludgeoning his way to his seventh Test hundred off just 69 balls (the third fastest in history), as for an hour or so the Australians wilted. But by the interval normal service had been resumed.

Chanderpaul is more renowned for dogged – some would say downright dull – rearguard actions, but in front of his home crowd he unleashed a string of quite exquisite cuts, pulls and drives. Aided by a crippled Ridley Jacobs, Chanderpaul added 131 for the sixth wicket at six runs an over. It was one of those rare occasions when Australia’s attack looked impotent.

The support given to him by Jacobs was invaluable. He pulled a thigh muscle early in his innings attempting a sweep off Stuart MacGill, and played almost all his innings on one leg and with severely limited movement. And yet he kept his end up, and even produced the shot of the day, a towering drive off MacGill which cleared the triple-decker stand at long-on. If Chanderpaul was joyous strokeplay, Jacobs was courageous determination.

The problem for West Indies was what happened either side of that stand. It wasn’t as if Australia bowled well - Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee were wayward in line and length - but the odd good ball here and there was enough to dismantle West Indies, who suffered an early double setback when both Devon Smith and Daren Ganga were dismissed inside the first six overs. Smith (3) was on the sharp end of a poor leg-before decision (9 for 1), Ganga (0) of a ball which kept a little low (10 for 2)

Brian Lara briefly threatened to unveil a masterpiece, and even though Wavell Hinds holed out to Justin Langer at mid-off courtesy of an infuriatingly loose drive (47 for 3), West Indies were not out of it. They were wobbling next ball when Marlon Samuels edged Brad Hogg to Matthew Hayden at first slip. But the hammer blow came in the next over when Lara was given leg-before for 26 (53 for 5). It was a dubious decision from Asoka de Silva, and it seemed to signal another humiliating capitulation.

But Chanderpaul and Jacobs fought back, and it took the drinks session to end their resistance. Two balls after the interruption Chanderpaul fell leg-before to Andy Bichel trying to pull a ball which wasn’t short enough (184 for 5) and Vasbert Drakes followed four balls later, excellently caught low down to his right by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist for 0 (184 for 6).

Jacobs continued his defiance as Merv Dillion cut loose. Dillon’s assault was cut short by MacGill and another poor lbw decision from de Silva. He made 20 in a breezy eighth-wicket stand of 38.

AUSSIES ON TOP
Australia made a mockery of the West Indian top order during the morning session of the first day’s play of the series at the Bourda Oval in Georgetown. West Indian wickets were going cheap, and four of the Aussie bowlers helped themselves. Only Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul stood up for long against the Australians, who will be especially pleased with their morning’s work considering that - with the exception of Brad Hogg - they didn’t bowl particularly well after Steve Waugh, in his record 157th Test, lost the toss.

Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee were wayward in line and length - Lee started with a near-wide that went for byes - but the odd good ball here and there was enough to dismantle West Indies, who suffered an early double setback when both Devon Smith and Daren Ganga were dismissed inside the first six overs. Smith suffered a harsh introduction to Test cricket, being unlucky to be given out lbw by Rudi Koertzen when he clearly inside-edged Lee into his pads. Everyone saw and heard the nick ... apart from the umpire (9 for 1).

But while Smith managed to hang around for 17 balls, Ganga - playing his 18th Test but his first in the West Indies - managed only three before Gillespie broke through. The ball kept a little low as it cannoned into the stumps off the bottom of the bat (10 for 2). Rather sooner than he'd wanted after winning the toss, Brian Lara came out to join Wavell Hinds, with the weight of West Indian cricket on his shoulders.

And Lara set about repairing the early damage with some majestic back-foot square cuts off the three pacemen. But he needed some support from the other end - and he didn’t get any. Wavell Hinds cover-drove Hogg’s first ball to the boundary, but when he tried the same shot in his next over he scooped up a dolly to Justin Langer at mid-off (47 for 3).

It became 47 for 4 the very next ball. Marlon Samuels, a player capable of keeping Lara company, edged Hogg’s chinaman to Matthew Hayden at first slip. The ball turned fractionally away from him and took a healthy edge. And if that wasn’t bad enough, West Indian hearts sunk to rock-bottom next over when Andy Bichel trapped Lara lbw for 26 (53 for 5). Lara shuffled across his stumps to a fullish ball and even though there a question-mark over the height and direction, Asoka de Silva took an age to raise his finger - and raise the panic alarm for West Indies.

Chanderpaul, who is surely under-placed at No. 6, and Ridley Jacobs held out to lunch with a few decent strokes. But they - and West Indies - are staring down the barrel after just one session on a wicket which is only going to get worse.

WEST INDIES ELECT TO BAT
Brian Lara’s second stint as West Indies captain got off to the perfect start when he won the toss and elected to bat first at the Bourda Oval. It meant an early grilling for West Indies' new opener, 21-year-old Devon Smith, only the third Test player to emerge from Grenada.

All eyes will be on the other captain, Steve Waugh, who today became the most-capped player in Test cricket with 157 appearances. And he was pretty relaxed at the toss, saying he didn’t mind that he had lost it. Australia sprang a surprise by going in with five bowlers, including both their spinners, Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg. Hogg returns to the Test side seven years after his previous appearance, a disappointing outing against India in Oct 1996. His inclusion meant there was no room for Martin Love, who had been expected to slot in at No. 4: Adam Gilchrist will go in one place higher than usual at No. 6.

The Georgetown pitch looks a lot dryer than usual, which is presumably why Australia went for two spinners. Lara said he thought it might deteriorate by the end of the match - which is why he's hoping that his batsman can bat for 150 overs or so and post a big total.