adminMELBOURNE. — Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja scored half-centuries to crush a defiant West Indies fightback, pushing Australia’s lead to an imposing 459 runs at the close of day three of the second Test cricket yesterday.
The pair’s composed 79-run stand tempered the West Indies’ cheer after their bowlers took early wickets in the wake of some doughty tail-end batting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After Khawaja’s dismissal for 56, captain Smith and Mitchell Marsh guided Australia to 179 for three at stumps in glorious sunshine. Smith was unbeaten on 70 with all-rounder Marsh on 18.
Smith had Sunday’s third Test in Sydney and the extra bowling workload in mind when he decided not to put the Windies back in to bat.
“It is going to reverse and as we saw in the first innings it’s a big weapon when you get new batters in against a reversing ball,” Australia paceman James Pattinson said.
“We’ve just got to keep bowling good areas. There’s still a little bit in the wicket. We’ll be bowling at some stage so we just have to be up for that.”
Thrashed within three days in the opener in Hobart, West Indies were left on the brink of losing the series 2-0 with a game in hand.
But anchored by half-centuries to debutant paceman Carlos Brathwaite and Darren Bravo, the tourists took heart from frustrating Australia’s bowlers for two sessions.
Replying to Australia’s mammoth first innings declaration at 551-3, West Indies resumed in the morning on 91-6 and eked 180 runs from their last four wickets to be bowled out for 271 on the stroke of tea.
Brathwaite rode his luck to make a rousing 59, with Bravo building stubborn partnerships with the tail-enders during a patient 81.
“From the team’s point of view, I was happy with the fight that we showed,” Brathwaite told reporters.” — Reuters.
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