- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,977
Australia will learn tomorrow morning whether they can call on the bowling brilliance of captain Pat Cummins as they chase victory over a defiant West Indies in the first NMRA Insurance Test.
Cummins suffered soreness in his right quadriceps after bowling on Friday and was unable to take the field when the West Indies began their pursuit of an unprecedented 498 at the start of today's second session.
Without their strike bowler, Australia struggled to make inroads into their opponents' top order and the visitors go into the final day on 3-192 still requiring 306 for the most unlikely of victories, with their captain Kraigg Brathwaite having celebrated an epic century shortly before stumps.
Having top-scored in his team's first innings, Brathwaite was the rock around his team’s total starting with a century opening stand alongside Tagenarine Chanderpaul and culminating in a joyous celebration in which he dropped his bat but never his guard.
Brathwaite enjoyed a remarkable let off on 67 when a delivery from Australia quick Josh Hazlewood appeared to clip the off bail which somehow refused to fall, and in his next over Hazlewood had Jermaine Blackwood adjudged lbw before the decision was overturned on review.
While the collapse triggered by the arrival of the second new ball in West Indies first innings – from which point they lost 6-39 inside 20 overs – will be fresh in the minds of Australia's bowlers, the prospect of not being able to call on Cummins is also a potential point of anxiety.
"There’s a few concerns with that quad complaint he suffered yesterday," Australia coach Andrew McDonald told Channel Seven during today's final session.
"We’ll assess him tonight.
"(With) the medical team, he’s in good hands with them.
"Clearly the West Indies are playing really well, so we may need that bowling resource tomorrow the way the game’s unfolding."
The skipper, who claimed his 200th Test wicket yesterday when he speared through Brathwaite's otherwise obdurate defence, returned to the field and took over the reins from vice-captain Steve Smith in the innings' 37th over, immediately after Australia had finally found a breakthrough.
The stoicism shown by Brathwaite and Chanderpaul in the first innings was evident, along with a dash more enterprise, in the second as they posted their first century stand as an opening pair and drove their rivals to the point of frustration.
That was most obvious in the over before Chanderpaul was dismissed, when Cameron Green tempted the lithe left-hander into a pull shot that flew high towards Mitchell Starc at fine leg.
Despite making metres to his right and executing a full-length dive on an area of recently replaced turf, Starc was unable to hold the difficult chance and Green slammed his hands on the ground in a show of exasperation.
It proved a reprieve of little cost when the impressive Test debutant was cramped for room by Starc operating around the wicket, and chopped on to his stumps having added just three more runs to his personal tally.
But not even the return of Cummins to the field brought a shift in momentum.
Until that point, his most significant contribution to day four was to declare his team's second innings closed on 2-182 come the arrival of lunch, at which point Marnus Labuschagne had joined an elite group of players to score a double-century and a hundred in the same Test.
Only two other Australia men's players – Doug Walters in 1969 and Greg Chappell in 1974 – can claim to share one of the few batting records to have eluded the great Don Bradman.
As he departed the field at lunch to prepare for Australia's bowling innings, in which he was called upon with the ball due to his skipper's absence, Labuschagne acknowledged he'd also enjoyed "a bit of luck today".
Most notably that fortune saw him reinstated at the crease having scored 19, after he had been caught at gully off luckless quick Alzarri Joseph when off-field scrutiny detected his wicket ball was in fact a no-ball.
It meant Joseph ended his maiden Test on Australia turf without a wicket to his name, and the setback seemingly drained the last reserves of resistance from the West Indies bowlers.
Even though David Warner fell on the cusp of a half-century, squeezing a catch to short leg from off-spinner Roston Chase, the West Indies' bowlers were unable to apply either pressure or the brakes.
As a result, Australia scored at will in the final hour of the opening session where they piled on 86 runs from 13 overs with Labuschagne helping himself to 62 from 44 deliveries to secure himself a place in history.
But it was not only Cummins who was absent from the action for patches of today's play.
The battle of attrition on a surprisingly benign Perth pitch also took a toll on the West Indies, whose depth is being tested with their touring party already reduced to 14 with all-rounder Raymon Reifer ruled out of the series with a groin injury.
In addition to the concussion suffered by number three batter Nkrumah Brooks on day three (which sees him in doubt for the Adelaide Test), all-rounder Kyle Mayers and pace bowler Kemar Roach have also been hobbled by injury.
Mayers has been diagnosed with a strain to the teres major in his (right) bowling shoulder, while Roach – who yesterday claimed his first Test wicket in Australia across six innings, stretching back to 2009 – went for scans on his left thigh after pulling up short following his final delivery this morning.
But even though he had been effectively reduced to three specialist seamer, Brathwaite only deployed Jayden Seales for three overs after the 21-year-old was barely seen beyond lunch on day one.
It would seem the West Indies skipper has reduced faith in the right-armer who is playing his 10th Test, but might have no choice other than use him more regularly in Adelaide due to a lack of viable alternatives.
It's one of multiple issues the visitors will need to address in the three days that separate the Tests in this NRMA Series, their impotence with the ball being high among them.
Australia resumed with a lead of 344, and quickly made it clear they wanted that advantage to grow at a rapid – although not reckless – rate.
That ambition received a boost when Labuschagne landed the first of two sixes in today's knock, albeit a fortunate one that flew from the top edge of his bat as he tried to pull a bouncer from Joseph that landed beyond the rope at deep third.
Emboldened by the sight of that rare mishit, Joseph dug in an even faster bouncer next ball that found Labuschagne so out of shape the resultant edge slammed into his batting helmet and looped gently to gully.
It was a decisive victory for the 26-year-old Antiguan, but the muted celebration for the belated breakthrough was ended within 30 seconds of the catch being taken when it was confirmed Joseph had overstepped.
It was symbolic of the West Indies bowling effort across both innings, where their six Australia wickets came at a cost of 130 runs apiece.
That represents the highest average per wicket Australia has managed in any Test where they've batted twice, with the previous benchmark being 121.67 - 3(dec)-551 and 3(dec)-179 - at the MCG in 2015, when the West Indies last toured here.
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/mat...-day-four-report-highlights-scores/2022-12-03
Cummins suffered soreness in his right quadriceps after bowling on Friday and was unable to take the field when the West Indies began their pursuit of an unprecedented 498 at the start of today's second session.
Without their strike bowler, Australia struggled to make inroads into their opponents' top order and the visitors go into the final day on 3-192 still requiring 306 for the most unlikely of victories, with their captain Kraigg Brathwaite having celebrated an epic century shortly before stumps.
Having top-scored in his team's first innings, Brathwaite was the rock around his team’s total starting with a century opening stand alongside Tagenarine Chanderpaul and culminating in a joyous celebration in which he dropped his bat but never his guard.
Brathwaite enjoyed a remarkable let off on 67 when a delivery from Australia quick Josh Hazlewood appeared to clip the off bail which somehow refused to fall, and in his next over Hazlewood had Jermaine Blackwood adjudged lbw before the decision was overturned on review.
While the collapse triggered by the arrival of the second new ball in West Indies first innings – from which point they lost 6-39 inside 20 overs – will be fresh in the minds of Australia's bowlers, the prospect of not being able to call on Cummins is also a potential point of anxiety.
"There’s a few concerns with that quad complaint he suffered yesterday," Australia coach Andrew McDonald told Channel Seven during today's final session.
"We’ll assess him tonight.
"(With) the medical team, he’s in good hands with them.
"Clearly the West Indies are playing really well, so we may need that bowling resource tomorrow the way the game’s unfolding."
The skipper, who claimed his 200th Test wicket yesterday when he speared through Brathwaite's otherwise obdurate defence, returned to the field and took over the reins from vice-captain Steve Smith in the innings' 37th over, immediately after Australia had finally found a breakthrough.
The stoicism shown by Brathwaite and Chanderpaul in the first innings was evident, along with a dash more enterprise, in the second as they posted their first century stand as an opening pair and drove their rivals to the point of frustration.
That was most obvious in the over before Chanderpaul was dismissed, when Cameron Green tempted the lithe left-hander into a pull shot that flew high towards Mitchell Starc at fine leg.
Despite making metres to his right and executing a full-length dive on an area of recently replaced turf, Starc was unable to hold the difficult chance and Green slammed his hands on the ground in a show of exasperation.
It proved a reprieve of little cost when the impressive Test debutant was cramped for room by Starc operating around the wicket, and chopped on to his stumps having added just three more runs to his personal tally.
But not even the return of Cummins to the field brought a shift in momentum.
Until that point, his most significant contribution to day four was to declare his team's second innings closed on 2-182 come the arrival of lunch, at which point Marnus Labuschagne had joined an elite group of players to score a double-century and a hundred in the same Test.
Only two other Australia men's players – Doug Walters in 1969 and Greg Chappell in 1974 – can claim to share one of the few batting records to have eluded the great Don Bradman.
As he departed the field at lunch to prepare for Australia's bowling innings, in which he was called upon with the ball due to his skipper's absence, Labuschagne acknowledged he'd also enjoyed "a bit of luck today".
Most notably that fortune saw him reinstated at the crease having scored 19, after he had been caught at gully off luckless quick Alzarri Joseph when off-field scrutiny detected his wicket ball was in fact a no-ball.
It meant Joseph ended his maiden Test on Australia turf without a wicket to his name, and the setback seemingly drained the last reserves of resistance from the West Indies bowlers.
Even though David Warner fell on the cusp of a half-century, squeezing a catch to short leg from off-spinner Roston Chase, the West Indies' bowlers were unable to apply either pressure or the brakes.
As a result, Australia scored at will in the final hour of the opening session where they piled on 86 runs from 13 overs with Labuschagne helping himself to 62 from 44 deliveries to secure himself a place in history.
But it was not only Cummins who was absent from the action for patches of today's play.
The battle of attrition on a surprisingly benign Perth pitch also took a toll on the West Indies, whose depth is being tested with their touring party already reduced to 14 with all-rounder Raymon Reifer ruled out of the series with a groin injury.
In addition to the concussion suffered by number three batter Nkrumah Brooks on day three (which sees him in doubt for the Adelaide Test), all-rounder Kyle Mayers and pace bowler Kemar Roach have also been hobbled by injury.
Mayers has been diagnosed with a strain to the teres major in his (right) bowling shoulder, while Roach – who yesterday claimed his first Test wicket in Australia across six innings, stretching back to 2009 – went for scans on his left thigh after pulling up short following his final delivery this morning.
But even though he had been effectively reduced to three specialist seamer, Brathwaite only deployed Jayden Seales for three overs after the 21-year-old was barely seen beyond lunch on day one.
It would seem the West Indies skipper has reduced faith in the right-armer who is playing his 10th Test, but might have no choice other than use him more regularly in Adelaide due to a lack of viable alternatives.
It's one of multiple issues the visitors will need to address in the three days that separate the Tests in this NRMA Series, their impotence with the ball being high among them.
Australia resumed with a lead of 344, and quickly made it clear they wanted that advantage to grow at a rapid – although not reckless – rate.
That ambition received a boost when Labuschagne landed the first of two sixes in today's knock, albeit a fortunate one that flew from the top edge of his bat as he tried to pull a bouncer from Joseph that landed beyond the rope at deep third.
Emboldened by the sight of that rare mishit, Joseph dug in an even faster bouncer next ball that found Labuschagne so out of shape the resultant edge slammed into his batting helmet and looped gently to gully.
It was a decisive victory for the 26-year-old Antiguan, but the muted celebration for the belated breakthrough was ended within 30 seconds of the catch being taken when it was confirmed Joseph had overstepped.
It was symbolic of the West Indies bowling effort across both innings, where their six Australia wickets came at a cost of 130 runs apiece.
That represents the highest average per wicket Australia has managed in any Test where they've batted twice, with the previous benchmark being 121.67 - 3(dec)-551 and 3(dec)-179 - at the MCG in 2015, when the West Indies last toured here.
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/mat...-day-four-report-highlights-scores/2022-12-03
