da prosport bet： Like a pinch of salt in a culinary masterpiece, Steve Waugh’s grit is used sparingly by the Australians these days
da betsson： Andrew Miller02-May-2003Close West Indies 89 for 0 (Smith 34*, Gayle 47*) trail Australia 605 for 9 (Waugh 115, Ponting 113, Lehmann 96) by 516 runsLike a pinch of salt in a culinary masterpiece, Steve Waugh’s grit is used sparingly by the Australians these days. But when he gets his opportunity, his flavour invariably floods through. Today, asked to bat for only the second time in the series, he nudged and nurdled – and occasionally sparkled – to his 30th Test century, one more than the great Sir Don Bradman. By the time Australia declared on an insurmountable 605 for 9, West Indies had been humiliated on the ground they once called their fortress.Though Devon Smith and Chris Gayle clawed back a modicum of West Indian pride in a tricky final session, the day belonged exclusively to Waugh. After resuming on his overnight 7, Waugh went to tea on 93 not out, and reached his century within four overs of the resumption. He added 124 for the sixth wicket with Andy Bichel, who reached his first fifty in Tests, as Australia posted their highest total of the series. In the process, Waugh overtook Sunil Gavaskar as Test cricket’s second-highest run-scorer, and had even inched his average back towards that personally-satisfying 50 mark – it now stands at 49.65.To watch Waugh bat is to be reminded of a bygone era in Australian cricket, a time when they were made to graft for every run and sweat for every victory. Compared to the millionaires at the top of Australia’s order, Waugh can look painfully awkward at the crease – and had Ramnaresh Sarwan taken a tough chance at short-midwicket when Waugh was 11, his place would have no doubt come under renewed scrutiny.But Waugh survived, unlike the unfortunate Darren Lehmann, who was deceived by low bounce and adjudged lbw for 96 in the second over of the day. It was a duff decision from umpire Shepherd – the ball pitched outside leg and would have missed off as well – but it was due reward for Drakes, who bowled with intelligence and discipline, and was the pick of the West Indian attack.A subdued Adam Gilchrist joined Waugh, and the pair set about milking the bowling as Australia at first struggled to emulate their effortless dominance of day one. A tight session of bowling was the best birthday present that Brian Lara, 34 today, could have wished for. But after being serenaded by the crowd – and doffing his cap in gratitude – Lara left the field with 20 minutes of the first session remaining, apparently with a touch of `flu, and the wheels came off the West Indian effort.Lara could only look on in concern as the frantic figure of Tino Best was flailed over midwicket for a four and two sixes in consecutive deliveries, as Gilchrist finally extracted full value for his strokes. Shortly after lunch, Gilchrist crashed to yet another fifty – his 24th in 42 Tests – and looked odds-on to crash many more. But with the score on 444 for 4, and with Shepherd hopping around dementedly at square-leg, Gilchrist misjudged a well-flighted delivery from Banks and was well caught on the midwicket boundary by Smith. It was a relief for Smith, who had missed a clear-cut run-out chance only a few overs earlier.Gilchrist’s dismissal sparked Waugh into a higher gear, although he was himself fortunate to survive on 55, when Sarwan charged round the midwicket boundary, but just failed to grasp a lofted sweep-slog off Banks. That very shot took him past Gavaskar’s tally of 10,122 Test runs, into second spot on the all-time run-scorers list.Bichel, with scores of 48, 4, 49 and 39 in his previous four Test innings, not to mention a World-Cup average of 117, celebrated his promotion to No. 7 and acceptance as a Test-class allrounder, by thumping Banks straight back over his head for four. He did offer one chance, a tough return catch to Lawson on 12, but the ball soared straight over his shoulder for four. It was to become a familiar pattern. Bichel went to tea on 45 not out with a series of arrow-straight slogs, and brought up his maiden Test fifty straight after tea with a driven single off Banks.With his eyes on a second Test century in four innings, Waugh was dropped down the leg-side by Carlton Baugh on 85, but, after reaching the break on 93, few doubted he would reach his hundred. Sure enough, Lawson drifted one onto his pads, and Waugh clipped him emphatically to the fine-leg boundary. With the hundred in the bag and cramp setting in, Waugh heaved a brace of merry boundaries, but swung once too often across the line at Lawson and was bowled for 115. Moments earlier, Bichel had slapped a Banks full-toss to Lara at short-midwicket for a magnificent run-a-ball 71.Though they started the day brightly, West Indies had faded badly in the Barbados sun amid an all-too-familiar spate of dropped catches and fumbled fielding. The denouement of the innings was an embarrassment, as Australia’s tail flogged sixes at will. The worst offender was Smith, on the midwicket boundary, who turned his back on a Jason Gillespie slog, only for the ball to plop for four, metres from his left hand. Gillespie celebrated his reprieve with a six, and brought up the 600 with another, as Banks, on debut, was cracked for 204 runs in 40 overs.West Indies were left to bat out 23 overs of the day, and with Glenn McGrath restored to the side after a spell of compassionate leave, nothing seemed more certain than a late flurry of wickets to compound a miserable day. But Gayle and Smith batted with increasing assurance on a pancake of a wicket to reach the close on 89 for 0. Gayle, with a point or two to prove after his puzzling omission for the first two Tests, stood tall and drove handsomely for his 47, while Smith bounced back strongly after his pair in Trinidad, closing on 34. They remained more than 500 runs adrift however, and with three days of this match remaining, they are already struggling to stay afloat.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden CricInfo Ltd.
