Resuming on 35 with his team on 207/6, the tall, muscular Bajan showed why he has been one of the few bright spots for the West Indies on what has otherwise been a miserable tour for the men from the Caribbean.
Advertisement
“I used to hear about that in county cricket but never heard about it in a Test match, so I think we’ve got to see how much play we get tomorrow. the West Indies coach said”. Rain is forecast to clear and some cricket is expected.
Australia has selected both Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe for the third and final test against the West Indies, marking the first time in 10 years that Australia has named two specialist spinners for a home test match.
There was no likelihood of the rain relenting with two days’ play being completely washed out at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
An over after Australia took the second new ball, Carlos Brathwaite (69) completed his second Test fifty, in 50 balls.
Bravo twice drove pacer James Pattinson for exquisite off-side boundaries in the 11th over before aggressively pulling the same bowler through mid-on for another four, in the right-armer’s next over.
A ball that leaped at the diminutive right-hander off the surface, and surprised Brathwaite to the extent that he was only able to recoil from its path and watch helplessly as the ball ballooned from his batting gloves to Steve Smith reaching forward at slip.
One of the 2 sixes he hit in one over off Australia paceman James Pattinson was a spectacular heave over the covers and deep into the gang.
The Windies opener refused to offer his opinion on whether Samuels – who has failed to score above 20 in his last nine Test innings – was a valued member of the side when prompted, instead exclusively playing down the run-out.
It was his second consecutive half-century after scoring 59 in his debut test at Melbourne last week – and became the first West Indian since Darren Bravo in 2010 to score 50s in each of his first two tests.
“Today was very frustrating”, he said. So we’ve got a really good friendship there, the three of us there.
Australia pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood said he was feeling fresh and ready to go for the final Test against the West Indies in Sydney.
Advertisement
West Indies lost Marlon Samuels for four before rain forced an early tea break, and a further three wickets following the resumption. “It’s a big challenge for me, it’s spinning pretty big and it’s got decent bounce”, he continued.
