2nd Test: West Indies v Australia at Port-of-Spain, 19-23 Apr 2003 Wisden CricInfo Live Report

2nd Test: West Indies v Australia at Port-of-Spain, 19-23 Apr 2003
Steven Lynch

Australia 2nd innings: close of play,
West Indies 1st innings: Start - Day 3, lunch, Tea - Day 3,
Live Reports from previous days

WEST INDIES SAVE THE FOLLOW ON BUT NOT YET THE MATCH
West Indies saved the follow-on on the third day at Port-of-Spain ... just. Daren Ganga and Marlon Samuels batted well, but the lower order couldn’t keep up the momentum and the innings folded for 408. Australia took a handy first-innings lead of 168, and extended that to one short of 200 for the loss of Justin Langer in an uncharacteristically restrained hour’s batting before the close.

It took some time, but Australia eventually worked their way through the West Indian batting order. Steve Waugh hasn’t batted in this match yet, and won’t mind too much if he misses out tomorrow as well. On a belter of a pitch, albeit one showing signs of occasional uneven bounce and offering substantial turn, Waugh will be looking to push that lead towards 400 before letting his fast men off the leash again.

Ganga’s century, his second in successive Test innings after 17 matches without one, gave West Indies hope in the first session. The spinners, Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg, were turning the ball appreciably, but Ganga picked them with great certainty, apart from the odd rush of blood, building on his century at Georgetown. He cracked 15 fours and a six in his century,

It was Ganga’s second Test hundred, and his first at home in Trinidad. Ironically Brian Lara, who was out for 91 late on the second day, has yet to reach three figures in 10 Tests on his home island. Some estimates had it that 5000 extra people might have ventured to the ground on this Easter Monday if Lara had still been batting.

Ganga had 117 by lunch, but failed to add to his score afterwards. Brett Lee, armed with the new ball, moved one away from him – the perfect pacy outswinger – and Matthew Hayden clutched a screamer into his midriff (279 for 5). The new batsman, the debutant David Bernard, played straight enough despite being clunked on the head by a Lee bouncer that flew off for four leg-byes, but had made only 7 when Jason Gillespie threaded one through the gate and knocked back his off stump (300 for 6).

Samuels, who made two single-figure scores in the first Test, was sketchy at first against Lee, but blossomed later, unfurling some deadeye drives. One over from Hogg cost 14, including an off-drive that blistered to the boundary, followed by a huge six over the cycle-track into the crowd at long-on. At 47 Samuels was caught by Hayden at first slip off Andy Bichel, but it was a no-ball. He sauntered to a half-century, in 130 minutes, in the next over.

At the other end another new cap, the diminutive wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, played a breezy innings. In the first match of the Australians’ tour Baugh bagged a century for the President’s XI in Georgetown. Here he played some breezy strokes and helped Samuels put on 67, but at 19, off what turned out to be the last ball before tea, he demolished his own stumps trying an extravagant cut (367 for 7). It was MacGill’s 100th Test wicket, in only his 21st match.

West Indies nibbled nervously at the tea-time sandwiches, needing 10 to save the follow-on. Samuels fell for 68 with the lead exactly 200, chipping a catch to the incoming Bichel at long-off (376 for 8). Vasbert Drakes earned a huge cheer for the vital single, and although he soon lost Merv Dillon – lbw to Jason Gillespie for his 25th Test duck (384 for 9) – Drakes set the Trini Posse jiving with two huge sixes off Hogg, one of which nearly reached the TV commentary box.

Drakes was eventually trapped in front, a fourth wicket for Lee. Despite the extravagant turn the spinners extracted at times, it was the fast men that did the damage: Gillespie was also waspish and wasted little. West Indies may have saved the follow-on, but they haven’t saved this match yet.

SAMUELS SHOWS HIS CLASS
West Indies struggled immediately after lunch on the third day at Port-of-Spain, losing two quick wickets after Steve Waugh claimed the new ball. But a flashing half-century from Marlon Samuels regained some of the lost ground, and although another wicket went down just before tea the follow-on was all but saved. Australia remain a long way in front, though, and are still favourites to make it 2-0.

Samuels, who made two single-figure scores in the first Test, was sketchy at first against Brett Lee, but blossomed later, unfurling some deadeye drives. One over from Brad Hogg cost 14, including an off-drive that scudded to the boundary like a rocket, followed by a huge six over the cycle-track into the crowd at long-on. At 47 Samuels was caught by Matthew Hayden at first slip off Andy Bichel, but it was a no-ball. He squeezed to a half-century, in 130 minutes, in the next over.

Hayden was in action earlier, clutching a screamer from Daren Ganga off Lee into his midriff (279 for 5). Ganga hadn’t added to his lunch score of 117, and was forced to play at the perfect pacy outswinger. The new batsman, the debutant David Bernard, played straight enough despite being clunked on the head by a Lee bouncer, but had made only 7 when Jason Gillespie threaded one through the gate and knocked back his off stump (300 for 6).

In came another new Test cap, the diminutive wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh. He played some breezy strokes, and helped Samuels put on 67, but at 19, off what turned out to be the last ball before tea, he demolished his own stumps trying an extravagant cut off Stuart MacGill (367 for 7). It was MacGill’s 100th Test wicket.

Ten needed to save the follow-on, and three tailenders to come in: it could be a close-run thing.

GANGA HUNDRED LIFTS WEST INDIAN HOPES
West Indies survived the first session of the third day’s play at Port-of-Spain with few alarms, adding 87 runs and losing only one wicket. With Daren Ganga, on his home turf, gliding to his second successive Test century, the Windies are now within sight of avoiding the follow-on, their first task after Australia piled up their massive total on the first two days.

Ganga, very much a borderline selection at the start of the series, played beautifully. He built on his century at Georgetown and was particularly solid against the spinners, even though Stuart MacGill was finding considerable turn and Brad Hogg was threatening. But apart from the occasional rush of blood, Ganga picked them both unerringly, and cracked 15 fours and a six in his century. He had extended his score to 117, his best in Tests, by the lunch interval.

It was Ganga’s second Test century, and his first at home in Trinidad. Ironically Brian Lara, who was out for 91 late last night, has yet to reach three figures in 10 Tests on his home island. Some estimates had it that 5000 extra people might have ventured to the ground on this Easter Monday if Lara had still been batting.

The only wicket to go down this morning was that of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who started well but seized up a little once Brett Lee came on. Lee clunked Ganga on the helmet (it went for four leg-byes) and zeroed a sandshoe crusher in on his foot ... but it was Sarwan who perished. Lee swung a yorker in slightly at high pace and pegged back the leg stump (258 for 4). Sarwan made 26 in his comeback game, and was reassuringly solid until Lee returned to conjure up memories of Sarwan’s nightmare series against the Aussie pacemen Down Under two winters ago.

Marlon Samuels, fresh from two failures in the first Test, was tentative at first, but a classical straight-driven four calmed his nerves. West Indies need a lot more of that if they are to escape: the batting looks strong on paper, but the next two men in (David Bernard and Carlton Baugh) are both making their Test debuts.

WEST INDIES HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT
9.30am - West Indies 186 for 3 (Ganga 69*, Sarwan 0*) trail Australia 576 for 4 dec by 390 runs

West Indies have a mountain to climb on the third day at Port-of-Spain’s Queen’s Park Oval. They start the day 390 behind Australia’s massive score. And the bad news is that their mountaineer-in-chief, Brian Lara, was out late last night, for a fighting 91.

For the second time in the series, Lara made batting look easy, although his start here was less certain than in the first Test at Georgetown. Nothing seemed more certain than a rousing Lara hundred as he roared into the nineties, but fate took a hand ... and for the second innings running Lara’s stumps were broken in peculiar fashion. In Guyana he lost control of his bat while sweeping, and just dislodged a bail: here he thought the ball had cannoned off Adam Gilchrist’s pads back into the stumps, but the replays showed he was genuinely out bowled. Oddly it means that Lara has still never made a Test century at home in Trinidad.

West Indies’ other centurymaker from the first Test, Daren Ganga, is still there, and the selectors’ defensive decision to go in with only three recognised bowlers does mean that on paper West Indies have an lot of depth to their batting. However, that ignores the fact that two of the batsmen to come are making their Test debuts – David Bernard and Carlton Baugh – and the other, Marlon Samuels, had a first Test to forget with two cheap dismissals. A lot depends on Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan, the vice-captain.

Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden.com.