West Indies centurion Dwayne Bravo plays a sweep shot during the fourth day of the second cricket Test against Australia in Hobart on Sunday (Saturday night Caribbean time). - REUTERS
HOBART, Australia (CMC):
DWAYNE BRAVO and Denesh Ramdin showed that there is character and grit to complement the considerable talent in the generally young West Indies side, as the pair delayed Australia's push for a series-clinching victory on the fourth day of the second Test early yesteday morning (Caribbean time) at Bellerive Oval.
Despite the huge distraction of seeing their compatriot, hero, and the team's star batsman falling victim yet again to a poor umpiring decision, the two fashioned a partnership that forced an unlikely fifth day in this Test.
Coming to the crease after South African umpire Rudi Koertzen erroneously ruled Brian Lara caught behind off Shane Warne, Bravo played with the authority and confidence that would have pleased his mentor in gathering 113, his second Test hundred, and by his own admission, the best he has ever played at any level of the game in his young career.
ALL-DAY DUEL
Ramdin joined him, after Marlon Samuels also fell to Warne - who finished with four for 112 - and the two young 'uns turned the inevitability of an innings victory for the hosts with West Indies at 140 for six into an all-day duel before they were finally dismissed and were bowled out for 334 in their second innings.
This left the Australians to chase a modest victory target of
78. Like Bravo, Ramdin lifted his game above the mediocre levels that have dogged
the West Indies so far in this short series, scoring a fluent Test-best 71 and putting
on 182 runs for the seventh wicket with his compatriot.
It was the second best-ever seventh-wicket stand in Test history by the Caribbean side, bettered only by the legendary match-saving world record stand of 347 by Dennis Atkinston and Clairemonte dePeiza against the Australians in Barbados on their first tour of the region in 1955.
Several members of the media and many other officials had brought forward their flights out of Tasmania at the dismissals of Lara and Samuels in quick succession before lunch on a beautiful, sunny day on the island.
Some had already checked out of their hotels in anticipation of Australia sealing victory on the fourth day, as the West Indies resumed on 82 for four, still needing another 175 runs to avoid defeat. Their predicament later that day in trying to find rooms again for the additional night prompted Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill to jokingly offer his couch to them at Aus $1,000 (US $733) at the end of play.
Bravo played almost flawlessly through his highest Test innings that spanned almost five hours and was decorated by 18 fours from 201 balls, and which he dedicated to his compatriots on the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Warriors squad for qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals four days earlier.
His use of the feet in driving against Warne and MacGill was an education for others ahead of him who seemed incapable of counter-attacking the spinners.
Ramdin, brought up playing much of his cricket against spinners in his native T&T, also looked at ease against the pair while also blunting the threat of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee with the second new ball in an innings that lasted five minutes short of four hours and included six fours off 191 balls.
Against such a high quality bowling attack, their determination and positive play gladdened the hearts of not only the few West Indian fans in the ground, but was also warmly appreciated by a small crowd of just over 3,000 spectators who were happy to see a real contest and a sampling of what the former kings of the game are really capable of with greater consistency and commitment.
Almost all of them would have been preparing to pack up and leave when Lara was cruelly sent on his way.
Having battled cautiously for over an hour at the start of the day and with his sights set on giving his team a fighting chance with a truly monumental innings, Lara, on 45, was beaten by a Warne googly, and stood transfixed momentarily when Koertzen upheld the appeal for a catch to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
Television replays confirmed that the left-hander's bat had brushed his pad and not the ball, yet to his eternal credit, he showed no signs of dissent in walking off with a cursory wave of the bat to the spectators who acknowledged his effort at Bellerive for possibly the last time.
It was the third time in four innings in the series that the 36-year-old former West Indies captain was the victim of a dubious decision, and coming on the heels of the Pakistani official, Aleem Dar, who incorrectly adjudged skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul caught behind off Lee the previous evening, the West Indies camp had every reason to feel aggrieved.
When Dar dubiously ruled Daren Powell lbw offering no shot to MacGill nearing the end of the fourth day, it was difficult for impartial observers not to believe that the Australians, by virtue of their sheer domination of opponents at home for 13 years, were again earning the favour of the international umpires in close or even not-so-close decisions, especially at key moments involving premier batsmen.
SHOWED DETERMINATION
Samuels, dropped by Warne at slip on 18 when he slashed at MacGill, also showed real determination in battling through the pain of an injured left knee and the quality of the Australian bowling.
But with the concentration clearly wavering at Lara's dismissal, Samuels, on 29, prodded forward to Warne and Brad Hodge held a low catch at short-leg.
With the two key wickets falling in the space of seven runs, the end seemed near, especially with an ineffective tail to follow Bravo and Ramdin.
Yet the two youngest players in the squad resisted all of the challenges posed to them, as Australian captain Ricky Ponting rang the changes in the quest for a decisive breakthrough.
The 22-year-old Bravo was the more aggressive of the two, although that positive manner almost proved his undoing on 56 when a flick off the toes at Lee was put down by a diving Hodge at square-leg.
That reprieve prompted the 20-year-old Ramdin to have a word with his teammate in a constant feature of their excellent partnership that was also highlighted by purposeful running between the wickets.
They seemed capable of extending their stand to stumps, but MacGill finally separated them in the final hour, Ramdin driving without getting to the pitch of a leg-spinner and Warne taking the catch low at slip.
This dismissal triggered the expected slide with the last four wickets falling for the addition of just 12 runs, including Bravo, who was ninth out, bowled 'round his legs by Warne attempting to ensure that he maintained the strike for the next over.
With more fine weather forecast for the final day, the efforts of the West Indies, particularly Bravo and Ramdin, were expected to be in vain as far as preventing Australia going 2-0 up in the series.
But as a portent for the future, it offered encouragement that these young men, with the right guidance and dedication, may one day be able to help the West Indies out of the deep trough into which they have continued to sink over the past decade.
