Test Bats Go Down Swinging

The Age

Saturday June 14, 2008

Alex Brown, Bridgetown, Barbados

IF THE past Antigua Test was an exercise in death by paper cuts, the opening exchanges on day one in Barbados was flashing swords.

The tedium of the Viv Richards Stadium pitch behind them, the Australians and West Indians tore into each other with rampageous ferocity on the harder, faster Kensington Oval surface.

And while rain prevented the first act from reaching its natural conclusion on Thursday, enough play was completed for the Windies to claim an early ascendancy in their quest to level the Frank Worrell Trophy series.

Australia headed to stumps on the first day with all specialist batsmen back in the pavilion and 7-226 on the board. Of those wickets to fall, four were the direct result of overly aggressive strokeplay, as the touring batsmen abandoned the attritional mindset of the second Test.

Only Andrew Symonds' 52 saved the tourists from calamity, although not before he received a pair of reprieves in the form of a dropped catch and a not-out ruling from umpire Mark Benson to a ball he gloved to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

"We probably paid the penalty a bit today for lapses in concentration at pretty critical times," said Australian coach Tim Nielsen. "I think right from the word go we saw the ball coming on to the bat, and even all during the week in training the boys have really been enjoying the fact they can play a few shots.

"We've been talking about that a bit. We've tried to equate to going from Sydney to Perth, as the two different surfaces we played on.

"But I'd be a bit careful if I was the Windies, they may well think they've won the day but it doesn't mean they've necessarily got a big lead in this Test." If the past month has shown anything, it is that the West Indies are a far better side than their eighth ranking indicates. But should they truly harbour ambitions to compete for a place among the game's elite, Chris Gayle's men will need to address the errors committed on Thursday, which gave the Australians breathing space they would otherwise have been denied.

The overt aggression and short-pitched bowling of Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards culminated in four deliveries soaring over the head of Ramdin and rocketing to the boundary. Just like that, the hosts had conceded 20 wides - a record in an innings. Add three dropped catches, and it is clear that as strong as the West Indies' position was after day one, it could have been utterly dominant.

Still, the Windies' indiscipline in the field could not detract from the brilliant performances of Dwayne Bravo (3-48) and Taylor (2-44), who used pace and swing to devastating effect. With the Australians looking to attack at every chance, the Windies' pacemen countered with aggression of their own, making for a combative few sessions and an entertaining day's play.

"They did well, extremely well, always picking up wickets." said Gayle, who could be well satisfied with his decision to bowl first. "It's a pretty decent wicket to bat on . . . (and) picking up a few extra wickets is very good."

The match began inauspiciously, with a faulty sightscreen delaying proceedings for 12 minutes. But the up-tempo tactics of both teams soon lifted the mood of the crowd - the West Indies testing the tourists with the short-ball, and the Australians responding with four sixes before lunch.

Phil Jaques (31) was the first wicket to fall, and his short innings proved a microcosm of the day. During his 35-ball stay, the left-armer bludgeoned Daren Powell for six over backward point, smashed Taylor to the fence, then fell trying to repeat the dose next ball. Others, including Brad Haddin (32), Simon Katich (36) and Michael Hussey (12), also went down swinging.

Nielsen, though, defended his relatively inexperienced batting line-up. "You can't take 200 Test matches of experience out and expect to have the same impact as a team," he said. "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."

© 2008 The Age

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