Windies falter, Aussies take Test lead

Yet, as so often happens for a young side that has so far failed to develop a winning habit, they were undone by a combination of their own impatience and indiscipline, and the outstanding batting of Mike Hussey who scored a superb unbeaten 133 and masterminded the home side’s recovery from 295 for eight to 428 all out 45 minutes after tea.

Trailing on first innings by 23 runs, the West Indies reached 68 for two at stumps with Ramnaresh Sarwan producing his best innings of the series in an attacking unbeaten 53 in just 69 minutes off 62 balls with seven fours.

He was due to resume on the fourth day today (last night Caribbean time) in partnership with nightwatchman Daren Powell after Devon Smith’s slump in form was extended when he fell to Brett Lee for a duck while opening partner Wavell Hinds was stumped off Shane Warne for 15.

Providing even more compelling evidence of his quality as a genuine all-rounder, Bravo claimed six for 84 — his second haul of five or more wickets in an innings in just his ninth Test — and took an astonishing catch off his own bowling to have Australia reeling in a morning session that featured the very best of a team that also showed occasional spurts of brilliance despite the heavy defeats in the first two Tests in Brisbane and Hobart.

The 22-year-old Trinidadian was the leading light in an illuminating effort, but almost every player on the field played a part in limiting Australia to just 48 runs off 27 overs while four wickets fell. Fidel Edwards, so expensive in his spell at the start of the innings the day before, was both quick and accurate in the early overcast conditions, getting the West Indies off to the perfect start when an inswinging yorker caught Brad Hodge plumb LBW for 18.

With Bravo removing Ricky Ponting and Edwards getting Justin Langer on 99 late the previous evening, it meant that the tourists had taken the last three wickets for 27 runs when Hodge made his way back to the pavilion at 238 for four. Andrew Symonds joined Hussey.

The normally aggressive right-hander could scarcely find a loose delivery to pounce upon, taking 19 balls to get off the mark and labouring to nine in 68 minutes before Bravo triggered a slide that saw the Australians lose three wickets for six runs just before the lunch interval.

Always bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, he breached the defence of a tentative Symonds, uprooting the Queensland player’s off-stump.

Bravo should have struck again in the same over but Denesh Ramdin inexplicably dropped a straightforward catch when new batsman Adam Gilchrist pushed at a delivery outside the off-stump before he had scored.

Given the destructive reputation of the left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, it could have been a very expensive lapse.

That it did not prove costly at all was due to an almost magical over that brought many in a Sunday crowd in excess of 16,000 fans to their feet.

Gilchrist, who had already struck a boundary in getting to six, drove expansively at Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul leaped high to his right at extra-cover to pull down a brilliant catch two-handed.

That memorable moment reduced Australia to 277 for seven and as the players left the field for lunch, their smiles and the excited murmur around the ground reflected arguably the best session of the play the West Indies had enjoyed on this trip Down Under.