Landing The Knockout Punch

For the first two Test matches in the current series, Australia predominantly held the upper hand. They walked away from Brisbane with a moral victory. They will have been very disappointed not to win in Adelaide. They arrived in Perth and after two days appear destined for defeat.

 

The failure to land a decisive blow in Adelaide will have unsettled the team. Michael Clarke will know that 20 South African wickets are required, if they are to win. After having the hosts 4 for 47, with 4 sessions still to play, the team will have just about ordered Micky Arthur to put the drinks in the esky and start arranging the chairs in the rooms for the post-match singalong. Not winning that game will have been experienced as a loss. They played out of their skins for the most part, and still couldn’t win.

 

This series is reminiscent of the 1992/1993 series between Australia and the West Indies. To put it bluntly, Australia should have won that series. The Windies hung on in Brisbane to force a draw, at 8 for 133 in the fourth innings. Australia won in Melbourne when Warne announced himself as a matchwinner. Rain forced a draw in Sydney. The teams met in Adelaide. In a low scoring affair, Australia needed just 180-odd to win the game and the series. For Allan Border, this match meant everything, after years of being pulverised by West Indian teams. In  one of the great finishes to a Test match, Craig McDermott edged a ball through to the keeper, after a valiant stand with Tim May, which saw the pair add 42 for the final wicket. Of course, Australia lost by one run.

 

The team was devastated. They had lost, from an entirely winnable position. They went to Perth immediately afterwards and were absolutely destroyed by Curtly Ambrose, who ran through the demoralised Australians with a spell of 7 for 1 off 29 balls. The two series are so similar. The champions against the challengers. The challengers threw some good combinations, but could not land that knockout punch. The Australian team will learn from this, and will take this experience to England in 2013.

West Indies Show Some Spirit

The Test series between the West Indies and England, which is likely to be won two nil by the latter, has been a surprisingly interesting encounter. England will win, and the scoreline suggests that they will win relatively comfortably. However, the West Indies appear to be turning the corner.

Marlon Samuels has played to his potential for the first time in his Test career. In his past four innings in this series, he has posted scores of 86, 117, 76 not out and 76. He is 31, so it isn’t a moment too soon, however if he can build on this form he will remain a key figure in the West Indies side for the next five years.

Darren Sammy really has to be commended. No one could have predicted the success that he has had as West Indian captain. The team appears to be playing with spirit and is united under Sammy. Meanwhile, Sammy’s personal performance has been above expectation. With the bat, Sammy has played some exhilarating innings of late, while he is a consistent wicket taker with the ball. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is highly underrated in world cricket. He is a gem. A dogged, determined fighter who has held together the West Indian middle order for in excess of 15 years. He is not looking like slowing down either.

However, perhaps the most remarkable performance came yesterday from Tino Best. Batting at number 11, Best lashed the English attack, rattling off 14 fours and a six on his way to 95. A stunning performance, that surely ranks with the most unexpected in the Test cricket history. Best is one of the much maligned West Indian speedsters who tried to fill the shoes of Ambrose, Walsh and company. Since his debut in 2003, he has played 14 Tests, taking 28 wickets at 48. He last played in 2009. Now, back in the action, he has recorded the highest innings by a number 11 in Test cricket and taken some key wickets for good measure.

The West Indies have not had  many successes in recent months, however good performances against Australia, India and now England suggest that the wheel is finally turning. They may not return to the halcyon days just yet, however they have seen off their darkest hour.

Australia Takes Series Two Nil

Third Test: Australia v West Indies

Windsor Park, Dominica

Australia 328 and 259

defeated

West Indies

228 and 294

Despite some late order hitting by West Indian captain Darren Sammy, Australia has defeated the West Indies by 65 runs, winning the series 2 Tests to nil.

The unlikely bowling hero in the final Test was Michael Clarke, who claimed his second 5 wicket haul in Tests. On a turning surface, Nathan Lyon was the other chief wicket taker, with 3 victims to go with his 4 in the first innings.

With Shivnarine Chanderpaul dismissed just prior to stumps on the penultimate day, the West Indian cause appeared defeated. However, the ever-underestimated Darren Sammy had other ideas. Sammy smashed 3 sixes and 4 fours, in 51 ball innings of 61. Despite his heroics, he couldn’t get his team over the line, in what would have been a remarkable victory.

The Australians bowled with discipline, and with the victory have leapfrogged India in the Test rankings. The West Indian team will be heartened by continued good performances, however they will be keen to start turning honourable losses into victories.

Chanderpaul claimed the man of the series award with a stunning batting performance for the series, in which he averaged 86; head and shoulders above any batsman from either side. Kemar Roach and Shane Shillingford both claimed 10 wickets in a match, with Roach taking the bowling honours with 19 wickets for the series.

The Australians had no standout performer with either bat or ball. Ben Hilfenhaus had another excellent series, while Ryan Harris excelled in the matches he participated in. The series was won with consistently good performances – when a wicket was required, someone chipped in. When a partnership was needed, the two batsmen at the wicket grafted tough runs. This is a good sign for an emerging team.

 

 

Third Test: Australia v West Indies

Day Three

Windsor Park, Dominica

Australia 328 and 6 for 200 (Ponting 57, Cowan 55; Deonarine 2 for 28)

West Indies 218 (Chanderpaul 68, Powell 40; Lyon 4 for 69)

The West Indies are facing a substantial fourth innings chase to level the best of three series, despite showing some fight on the third day at Windsor Park.

In contrast with many of his team mates, Shivnarine Chanderpaul playing a typically determined innings in taking the West Indian total past 200. Ravi Rampual again reinforced the trend of strong tailend batting in this Test with a dogged 31. Nathan Lyon ended the innings with a four wicket haul, including the crucial wickets of Powell and Barath, which turned the match in Australia’s favour.

Ed Cowan strode to the wicket in what would be his final Test innings before a 6 month break. Cowan, who had not passed 34 in his previous 7 innings, had not looked out of his depth in Test match cricket. However he had failed to press on with promising starts. Today he anchored the innings as Warner and Watson fell in quick succession. Cowan batted serenly in collaboration with Ricky Ponting, who would have been thankful for an extended stay at the wicket. Cowan launched a cut shot to Deonarine, only to edge the ball to Sammy at slip, who held onto a lightning quick chance. This will have frustrated Cowan to no end. On the other hand, Sammy’s allround versatility as a cricketer is coming to the fore, after few gave him a chance of succeeding as West Indian captain.

Ponting played an assured innings, and for once in the series had an ounce of fortune, surviving a run out and a dropped catch. His nemesis Kemar Roach claimed his wicket with a lifting delivery, and thus ended Ponting’s batting career in the West Indies. Ponting was out to a ‘periscope’ shot as he ducked a bouncer, leaving his bat in the path of the ball and spooning a catch. Another bizarre dismissal for Australia’s former skipper, who appears to be batting quite well, though is just finding ways of getting himself out.

With Australia holding a lead in excess of 300, with 4 wickets in hand and two full days to play, only two results seem possible. A win would cap an excellent 6 months of Test cricket for Australia, while the West Indies will be feeling as though some good cricket in recent times has been somewhat unfulfilled. Then again, being ‘good’ isn’t necessarily good enough in Test match terms.

Third Test: Australia v West Indies – Day 2

Australia v West Indies

Third Test: Windsor Park, Dominica

Day 2

Australia 328 (Wade 106, Warner 50, Watson 41, Starc 35; Shillingford 6 for 119).

West Indies 8 for 165 (Powell 40, Barath 29; Lyon 3 for 49)

Australia took a stranglehold on the third Test, with a dominant display at Windsor Park. Resuming at the precarious position of 7 for 212, Australia would have been hoping for a score over 250. However Matthew Wade, in just his third outing in the baggy green, forged an excellent century with great support from Starc and Hilfenhaus, which forced the Australian score past 300.

Captain Michael Clarke had only just publicly reinforced his support for regular Test keeper Brad Haddin, who returned to Australia at the start of the tour for family reasons. Perhaps this spurred Wade, who had yet to demonstrate his potential with the bat in the Test arena. The innings ensures the Australian selectors will have to make a tough decision when the Test team resumes later this year, however the innings also took control of the match away from the West Indies, who had edged ahead at the close of day one.

Shane Shillingford continued to pose the greatest danger on a turning wicket, claiming his best figures in Test matches and perhaps exposing the weakness of Australian batsmen against quality spin bowling.

The West Indies batsmen, as is so often the case in recent times, lost wickets at crucial stages and failed to build partnerships. From a position of relative comfort at 1 for 62, the innings imploded to 8 for 120 as Nathan Lyon and the Australian quicks ran through the West Indian middle order. Some late resistance from Ravi Rampaul and the ever reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul saved the innings from absolute capitulation.

Lyon is to be commended; after struggling to take wickets throughout the Australian summer and the first Test in the Carribean, he has responded with game turning performances in the past two matches.

The West Indies must push the score past 200 in the early stages of day three, then bowl the Australians out cheaply to have any chance of levelling the series.

Third Test: Australia v West Indies

Windsor Park, Dominica

Day One

Australia 7 for 212

Warner 50, Watson 41, Starc 24*

Shillingford 4 for 77

With Australia having retained the Frank Worrell Trophy, the concluding Test match of the series appeared to be a relative formality. However, many questions lingered. Australia’s top order had not yet settled. Australia’s bowlers, however formidable, were proving mortal in the face of stress and strain which was resulting in a high injury rate. The West Indies batting had proven to be prone to collapse throughout the opening two Tests, though there was enough resolve to suggest that this top 6 was worth persevering with. The West Indian bowling attack, mixing pace with spin, was showing a formidability not seen for some time.

 

The Third Test opened with the newly installed opening pair of Ed Cowan and David Warner needing runs. Cowan went early for 1, trapped in front by the returning Ravi Rampaul. Watson and Warner steadied, taking the score to 84, before Watson departed for a studious 41. Runs were tough to come by, which continued the trend of slow scoring in this series. The normally free scoring Warner was palying a circumspect innings, while Ponting grafted out a steady 23. Australia lost consistent wickets, with no playing really able to capitalise on their starts. Of the top 5 batsmen, only Cowan failed to make it into the 20s, however only Warner managed a half century, losing his wicket to offspin bowler Shane Shillingford for an even 50.

 

Shillingford proceeded to run through the Australian batting, removing Ponting, Clarke and Hussey cheaply. Before long, Australia were 7 for 169 and in a fair degree of trouble. Mitchell Starc, returning to the Test side with injuries to Siddle and Pattinson, played possibly the most fluent innings of the day, with a cameo of 24 not out which saw Australia through to stumps.