Windies face the follow-on

BRIDGETOWN: Australian perseverance and a critical umpire’s error have contrived to leave the West Indies cricketers facing the inevitability of the follow-on heading into the fourth day of the Third Cable and Wireless Test in Bridgetown.

Replying to the tourists’ monumental first innings total of 605 for nine declared, the home team closed the third day yesterday at 291 for eight, still needing 115 more runs just to deny Steve Waugh the luxury of  determining whether or not he wants to put the West Indies in a second time to try and force an innings victory to clinch the four-match series and maintain the quest for a whitewash of the Caribbean side. The Aussies thoroughly deserved to be in control, but their task was made considerably easier when Brian Lara was erroneously adjudged leg-before off medium-pacer Andy Bichel half-an-hour before the close.

The West Indies captain, who spent most of the morning in his hotel bed because of an undisclosed ailment, eventually came to the crease at the fall of the sixth wicket with the total at 245. Though clearly under the weather, he battled on in partnership with Carlton Baugh. The luck seemed to be on his side when an edged drive off Jason Gillespie was floored by Ricky Ponting at second slip. However that good fortune deserted him cruelly when Indian umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan raised the dreaded index finger to send him on his way for 24. Television replays confirmed instant suspicions that the ball had taken the inside edge of the bat before crashing into his back pad.

Insult was added to injury in the day’s final over, as Baugh, who also had his own slice of luck minutes before when put down by Darren Lehmann at short extra-cover off Bichel, prodded forward to leg-spinner Stuart MacGill and Ponting held a straightforward catch at silly-point. The wicketkeeper-batsman’s dismissal for 24 leaves only Jermaine Lawson and Tino Best to come and it is highly unlikely that Vasbert Drakes (4 not out) will be able to do too much on his own to reduce Australia’s considerable overall advantage. Bichel featured in much of the late drama but it was Gillespie who put the brake on the West Indies openers’ promising effort in the morning session.

The lanky pacer, Australia’s outstanding bowler so far in the series, produced a superb delivery to bowl Chris Gayle for 71 and end a partnership of 139 with Devon Smith. The Jamaican left-hander played with trademark power and timing in reaching a tenth Test half-century, but his dismissal was followed soon after by that of Smith, ruled caught at the wicket driving at Gillespie for 59 although the little Grenadian did not seem happy with English umpire David Shepherd’s verdict. With Lara unavailable at that time, the tempo of the match shifted to one of attrition as vice-captain Ramna-resh Sarwan joined Daren Ganga in battling doggedly to defy the Australian bowlers on a pitch keeping occasionally low and offering sharp turn for MacGill. They added 63 watchful runs before Ganga perished for 26 to an awful shot, hoisting a waist-high full-toss to mid-on to become a victim of Lehman’s occasion left-arm spin for the second time in the series. There was more celebration for the visitors in the next over as Shivnarine Chanderpaul miscued an attempted pull to his first delivery from MacGill and Brett Lee held a good catch  running back from mid-on.

Lara’s continued absence resulted in Omari Banks being pushed up the order with Baugh, and the debutant responded by playing positively, driving fluently for boundaries through the on-side. The second new ball broke the fifth-wicket partnership however as Sarwan, on 40, followed a delivery from Lee and edged it into wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist’s gloves. At the same score, 245, Banks drove once too often and Ponting held a sharp chance at second slip to remove the young Anguillan for 24 and give Gillespie a deserved third wicket. Lara’s arrival at that point offered hope for the suffering masses at the Kensington Oval, only for those dreams of another miraculous innings to be ended by Venkat’s error.