West Indies captain Brian Lara plays through the onside during his innings of 52 not out on the penultimate day of the second Test at Queen's Park Oval yesterday. - Dellmar PORT OF SPAIN, CMC:
NOT FOR the first time, Brian Lara stands between a heroic challenge or abject humiliation for the West Indies.
The regional captain, bitterly disappointed at being dismissed for 91 in the first innings, goes into the final day of the Second Cable and Wireless Test against Australia on 52, with his side at 107 for three having been set the improbable target of 407 to square the series.
Steve Waugh's second innings declaration at 238 for three 20 minutes before tea on the fourth day yesterday effectively threw down the gauntlet to the home side to achieve a world record victory or survive four sessions on a wearing pitch.
The odds are that they will achieve neither, but as long as Lara survives, die-hard West Indians will still believe in a miracle.
Yet even for the eternal optimist, the bare statistics of the task are daunting - to get another 300 runs with seven wickets in hand against the best team in the world.
HERCULEAN TASK
The discipline and pace of Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee are already more than a handful. Add to that the prospect of wrist-spinners Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg operating on a dusty, inconsistent surface and the challenge becomes positively Herculean. But it has been done before.
India set the current record victory chase in reaching 406 for four against the West Indies at the same Queen's Park Oval venue in 1976, and the majority of fans gathering at the ground this morning will be backing their hero to achieve a performance similar to his sensational 153 not out in the memorable victory in Barbados four years ago.
The perils of the pitch were evident in the final minutes of the fourth day as Wavell Hinds, who battled through with some luck for 35 overs, prodded forward to MacGill and the ball spun off the face of the bat backwards to dislodge the bails.
His dismissal for 35 ended a hopeful 85-run partnership with Lara, who had a generous slice of luck when Lee put down a caught-and-bowled chance as he mistimed a pull when only on six.
Coping skilfully with the sharply turning ball, the captain reached 50 in 119 minutes off 75 balls with seven fours.
SMITH'S 'PAIR'
The burdensome task had become apparent after the early burst from Gillespie, who condemned Devon Smith to the ignominy of a 'pair' in earning an LBW verdict against the opener and then took the edge of Daren Ganga's bat for Matthew Hayden to snare an excellent low catch at first slip, reducing the West Indies to 12 for two.
Hayden had just an hour earlier completed his 13th Test century and second against the West Indies. His unbeaten, even 100 was the cornerstone of the Australians' second innings effort as vice-captain Ricky Ponting chipped in with 45 and Darren Lehmann blazed away for 66 with eight fours and two sixes.
Lehmann's dismissal, bowled by Mervyn Dillon, prompted the declaration.
Dillon, again looking far from his best, also accounted for Ponting to a catch at the wicket by Carlton Baugh Jnr.
Known for his powerful, commanding strokeplay, Hayden was deliberate in his progress, keen to make amends for three low scores already in the series. He reached the century after exactly three hours, having faced 274 balls and struck 10 fours, statistics untypical of the big Queenslander.
Lara will have noted that yet another Test century has been scored on his home ground while he remains unfulfilled. Once more he has the chance to settle that outstanding debt and keep the Australians anxious in quest of the victory that will keep the Frank Worrell Trophy in their hands.
