West Indies: Another Good Day In The Office

Shiv Chanderpaul
brings up his 25th Century

It hasn't all gone according to plan for Australia during this Calypso tour. After thrashing India, squaring with South Africa and beating Sri Lanka on their home turf, the jaunt to Caribbean may well have been seen as a just reward before the Test players take a well earned break. For those keeping up, we won't mention New Zealand.

Not only did the ODI and T20 series get pear shaped but the first Test at Barbados is going bad on them with every day's play. 

On Saturday, they dropped three catches and couldn't bowl a line which made the West Indies play. 

On Sunday, the dropped or missed more catches and the West Indies tail danced a maypole around Shiv Chanderpaul whilst adding 133. The little left hander with the world's worst stance raised his fifth century against Australia - all in the Caribbean - and his 25th in Tests. Incredibly, all but five of them have been in the first innings of Tests. The much vaunted pace attack, aided and abetted by Lyon, Clarke, Hussey and even the wayward long hops of Dave Warner, couldn't blow the Windies house down and Darren Sammy took great satisfaction in declaring nine down. Warner's long hops earned him his first two Test scalps - twice as many as his first class tally. Peter Siddle was the best of the bowlers but again had meagre rewards. Warner made a ballistic start to the Aussie innings.

Ponting left a very unhappy chappy

On Monday, Australia lost three wickets in 14 overs. Cowan and then Warner fell to edges off Sammy and Ricky Ponting got the et tu Watto treatment from the new No 3. After taking one to short backward square, Watson initially called Ponting back for the second, dithered and then decided to stay at the bowler's end, leaving Ponting an impossible return to the safety of the crease. One wonder what was sacrificed in the dressing room in order to sate the little man's anger. Watson added 49 with Michael Clarke until lunch and one wonders what was said over sandwiches because two balls after the break he played the sort of shot would earn an U/10 a kick up the backside. He took one of Armstrong's giant leaps, wafted aimlessly way outside the off stump and was caught behind.

Clarke and Michael Hussey crawled to tea, adding only 67 runs in a session of 28 overs. Rain and bad light robbed the crowd of a full afternoon, with Clarke the only other wicket to fall. Frustrated at the pace of the batting after raising a slow half century, he jumped down the track to leg spinner Devendra Bishoo and skied a simple catch to Narsingh Deonarine at deep long off. With enough slow scoring and wickets wasted already on this day, Hussey and debutante Matthew Wade saw out time until bad light finished it. There's is the partnership which will either ensure the draw of provide the West Indies with a incentive to power onward because the Australia tail doesn't inspire confidence.

Clarke scored 73

There is no doubt the West Indies were greatly assisted by wickets gifted to them with a generosity unlike this Australian side with its burgeoning reputation for steely backs in a crisis. All five wickets need not have been lost if better judgment had been applied. Despite this, credit must go to the West Indies faster men, who kept the Australians pinned down and to Bishoo, who tempted and taunted the batsmen with significant turn and excellent variation. He's not as accurate as Warne was but then, who is. The real question mark must hang over the respect Deonarine attracted. His 18 overs of innocuous off spin cost just 33 and its hard to conjure an excuse as to why he was allowed to be so frugal.

Clarke has much to do to get his side back on task. They are playing like holiday makers in loud shirts, happy to spend up big and not attend to the details. This Test is gone in terms of a positive result but they must quickly recoup or the game could slide to the West Indies. In the end, they just need to bat better, bowl better and field better ... apart from that, they're perfect.