Earlier Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh produced the highest Test partnership in this country and broke a host of other batting records.
Advertisement
If anything, West Indies’ ten-wicket defeat in a tour game against a Cricket Australia XI last week has only served to educe ticket prices at the Bellerive Oval.
More pink-ball matches are planned after the success at Adelaide, with Cricket Australia keen to schedule day-night Tests when South Africa and Pakistan visit late next year.
The partnership between Voges and Marsh was already at 317 when play began at Blundstone Arena on day two.
“That set the tone for the day”, Voges said. “To be able to bat with Shaun for as long as I have and to put on over 300, it’s been excellent”.
“We’re obviously good mates as well as team-mates so to spend a lot of time out there together was tremendous”.
In reply, the West Indies were 81-4 at tea. “It’s something I’ve been working really hard to try and do and I got 99 past year [against India], so to get to three figures on home soil was pretty special”.
“I definitely feel comfortable at this level”.
“It has to start somewhere, we just have to be consistent in whatever we do”.
Voges and Marsh now have the overall fourth-wicket Test record in their sights.
Unfortunately for West Indies there were no chances created in the two sessions that followed and there weren’t too many appeals either. “Vogesy batted really well and got me going and I’m really happy that we both got hundreds”. I’m sure they’ll come out [hard] tomorrow.
A diplomatic Voges didn’t criticise the West Indies when asked if their attitude was up to Test standard.
They bowled just 50 overs in the first two sessions of play and needed to contact part-time spinners to get to 89 of the policy 90 overs under the threat of corrective action from the match referee Chris Broad.
Warner, in particular, was in a sublime form as he blasted 64 off just 61 balls with 11 fours, thereby completing his 11th fifty of the year, which is the most by any Australian opener in a calendar year.
Warner survived a scare in the second over when he nicked a Kemar Roach delivery but Ramdin failed to get the ball into his gloves. Warrican, then had Smith caught by Jermaine Blackwood at first slip.
His woes were compounded by a left ankle injury which left paceman Shannon Gabriel unable to bowl and booked in for scans on the joint on Thursday evening.
Steve Smith’s team are hot favourites to win the three-Test series in dominant style against the tourists.
Advertisement
Voges brought up his double-century from his 266th elivery with a single to deep point off Jason Holder, and in the next over Marsh moved to his 150 from his 227th ball with a single off Taylor, also to deep point.
