Tags:
Journalism of Courage
SYDNEY, JAN 3: Steve Waugh hit an unbeaten 82 as Australia dominated the second day of the final Test on Wednesday, ending on 284-4 in reply to the West Indies 272 all out.
After sharing the honours on the first day, Waugh’s men relentlessly tightened their grip on the match. Following on from his magnificent century in last week’s crushing fourth Test victory in Melbourne, the unflappable Waugh teamed up with Ricky Ponting (51 not out) as the pair shared an unbroken partnership of 127.
The tourists had added 16 runs to their overnight total of 256-9 before Colin Miller mopped up the last wicket.
Miller, one of cricket’s zaniest characters, added a touch of humour to proceedings when he walked out onto the sacred Sydney turf sporting a bright blue hairstyle, apparently to help mark Australia’s federation centenary celebrations.
West Indian tailender Courtney Walsh had never seen anything like it in his 127 tests and was so bemused by the sight of the Australian they call `Funky’ that he could not take strike until collecting himself.
Inevitably, the match immediately took on a more serious note when the Australians took their turn at the crease. With a world record sequence of 14 Test wins on the trot, the Australians wasted little time chasing a 15th success on a good batting strip.
Brian Lara took his 100th Test catch and gave Walsh his 493rd wicket when he dismissed Matthew Hayden for three and Nixon McLean had Justin Langer caught behind for 20 to give the beleagured West Indies a glimmer of hope at 55-2.
But Michael Slater and Mark Waugh started the recovery by adding 54 for the third wicket before a terrible mix-up ended with Waugh being run out for 22.
Undeterred, Slater punished every loose ball and passed 13,000 first-class runs to reach 96 before his innings also ended tragically, just four runs short of a 15th Test century.
The Australian opener had batted 174 minutes, faced 142 balls and smashed 13 boundaries and a four all run when he mistimed a drive off left-arm spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and presented Marlon Samuels with a simple catch at cover point.
Even worse, by falling for 96, Slater had the dubious honour of becoming the first player in history to be dismissed in the 90’s nine times. Steve Waugh also has nine score in the 90s but two of his were not outs.
Slater’s departure proved to be of little consolation to the West Indian bowlers as Ponting joined the skipper at the crease and swung the match Australia’s way. Waugh reached his 50 midway through the final session off 111 balls while Ponting registered his second 50 of the series just before stumps after facing 109 deliveries.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES: 1st Innings (Overnight 256-9):
S Campbell c&b MacGill 79
W Hinds b MacGill 70
J Adams lbw McGrath 10
B Lara c M Waugh b MacGill 35
M Samuels c Langer b MacGill 28
R Sarwan lbw MacGill 0
R Jacobs st Gilchrist b MacGill 12
M Nagamootoo c Slater b Miller 12
N McLean lbw MacGill 0
C Stuart not out 12
C Walsh c Hayden b Miller 4
Extras: (b-4, lb-4, nb-2) 10
TOTAL: (102.1 overs) 272
Fall of wickets: 1-147, 2-152, 3-174, 4-210, 5-210, 6-235, 7-240, 8-240, 9-252
Bowling: McGrath 19-7-43-1, Gillespie 16-4-44-0 (nb-2), MacGill 37-11-104-7, Miller 30.1-8-73-2
AUSTRALIA: (Ist Innings)
M Slater c Samuels b Nagamootoo 96
M Hayden c Lara b Walsh 3
J Langer c Jacobs b McLean 20
M Waugh run out 22
S Waugh not out 82
R Ponting not out 51
Extras: (b-1, lb-1, nb-8) 10
TOTAL: (for four wickets, 87 overs) 284
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-55, 3-109, 4-157
Bowling: Walsh 19-2-60-1 (nb-2), Stuart 12-2-38-0, Nagamootoo 22-2-77-1, McLean 14-2-58-1 (nb-2), Adams 14-2-38-0 (nb-4), Samuels 6-3-11-0
SYDNEY: Australian opener Michael Slater played down his ninth Test dismissal in the 90s and emphasised the value of his innings in the fifth and final Test against West Indies on Wednesday.
“To me it’s all about the team orientation and my innings today was valuable,” Slater said. “There’s not too much negative about that. To me, 96 is just another figure. In terms of personal milestones it would be nice to have 23 hundreds but they’re little milestones.
“Whether it’s 101 it doesn’t mean a whole lot different to me. I would have been just as disappointed to get out for 101 or 120 because I was enjoying it.”
Slater’s nine Test dismissals in the 90s is a world record. The opener’s majestic innings was, however, tarnished by his involvement in a run-out with Mark Waugh. Slater appeared to call for a quick single from the non-striker’s end but suddenly changed his mind, leaving Waugh stranded halfway up the pitch, but he insisted it was not his fault. “A run-out is a cheap wicket but today it was a mixture of both of us,” said Slater, who has been involved in three run outs this season.
“An early call from him might have prevented the run out. I couldn’t see the angle and with his body movement I thought it must have been hitting the gap. It’s very unfortunate that I’ve been involved in three runouts this summer and because I’m the one still out there, the blame always goes to me.”
