“At the end of the day we might be able to have a solution, but you still might have players that don’t think they can play Test cricket or don’t want to play Test cricket anymore”.
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Earlier, Holder opted to bat first for the first time in the three-Test series as Australia sought a 3-0 sweep on the dry deck in Sydney.
Hazlewood had opener Shai Hope caught behind for nine, pushing at a good-length ball with the score on 13.
Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo put on 91 for the second wicket, but Australia took the initiative in the 37 minutes between the start of the second session and a rain interruption.
Marlon Samuels was run out in a awful mid-pitch mixup with Kraigg Brathwaite before the first rain interruption in the afternoon session.
However, Carlos Brathwaite and Ramdin came together in a seventh wicket stand now worth 48, to stall Australia’s progress and ensure West Indies were still afloat at the close.
Australia are playing two spinners for the test, with spinner Stephen O’Keefe joining Nathan Lyon in the bowling attack, in place of the injured seamer Peter Siddle.
Hopefully, if the skipper sees that spin will play a big role then we might get more overs in towards the back end of the match if the wicket keeps spinning, its spinning already..
Further rain is forecast today. “I enjoy playing with Nathan, he is a humble, lovely guy who I admire a lot and fingers crossed we can get that opportunity again”, O’Keefe said.
The second day belonged to rain and Brathwaite.
“I think anything is possible and I welcome the interest that everyone has in hosting test matches, it is a ringing endorsement of test cricket and day-night test cricket”, he added.
When tea was taken with rain continuing to hammer down, the West Indies were 248 for seven with Denesh Ramdin on 30 and Kemar Roach yet to score.
“This is the first one at Richie’s home ground since he passed away so we wanted to make this the best we could in terms of honouring him”, group founder Michael Hennessy said “This will be the most we’ve ever had”.
Smith’s own form hit a minor blip when he was dismissed for 10 in Australia’s only innings in the first Test against West Indies but the runs were flowing again in Melbourne last week after knocks of 134 and 70 without being dismissed.
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AUSTRALIA – *S Smith, D Warner, J Burns, U Khawaja, A Voges, M Marsh, +P Nevill, S O’Keefe, J Pattinson, J Hazlewood, N Lyon.
