Tony Becca
AUSTRALIA WON the second Test against the West Indies by nine wickets early on the fifth day in Hobart, and after winning the first Test by 379 runs, they have taken a winning two-nil lead in the three-match contest.
After winning the toss and falling for 149 runs, the West Indies were on the run from the first day, and but for two splendid performances, one on the third day and one on the fourth day, they would have been destroyed, totally destroyed, by Australia.
With Australia riding high on 256 for one at stumps on the second day, the West Indies bowlers returned on the third morning and in a lovely performance grabbed nine wickets for 150 runs and limited Australia to 406 and a lead of 257.
As good as that performance was, however, it was nothing compared with the Windies performance on the fourth day.
With the West Indies, 82 for four overnight and 140 for six before lunch after star batsman Brian Lara, for the third time in four innings - had fallen to a dubious decision just when he appeared set and ready to go - Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin stepped in and in a glorious performance, shared a seventh-wicket partnership of 182 runs in 223 minutes off 343 deliveries, with Bravo scoring 113 and Ramdin 71.
BATTING AT ITS BEST
It was batting at its best as Bravo, 22-year-old and Ramdin at 20, backed their ability, took on Australia's bowlers, hit them to all parts of the ground and in the process demonstrated that West Indian batsmen can bat when they bat like West Indian batsmen.
The question is what inspired Bravo and Ramdin to do what they and their colleagues had failed to do before.
According to Bravo, he decided to be more positive, he decided to believe in himself and he told Ramdin not to let the Australian attack control them. Together they did just that, they were positive, they did not sit back and let the Australian bowlers intimidate them and the result was wonderful.
Australia, despite the presence of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, in spite of a second new ball, and despite changing the bowlers from end to end, did not get another wicket until the score was 322.
In contrast to the timid and tentative play of the West Indies batsmen up to then, to their pushing and plodding, Bravo and Ramdin, chipping to the pitch of the ball, going back and giving themselves room to attack the ball, used their feet to the spin bowlers, they drove freely off the front foot and off the back foot, they swept and they cut and against the pacers they went onto the front foot and drove confidently, onto the back foot and drove confidently.
TRINIDADIAN PAIR
For 57 overs, the pair of Trinidadians dominated McGrath and Lee, Warne and MacGill with Ramdin stroking six boundaries and Bravo 15 - including a few out of the top drawer.
Among those to remember were a drive over mid-wicket off MacGill, a front-foot drive to long-off off Lee followed by a back-foot drive to extra-cover off the pacer, a chip and drive over mid-on off Warne, a chip and drive to the mid-wicket boundary off MacGill as he moved towards his century, and another chip and drive to the wide long-on boundary off MacGill as he stepped past the century mark.
The third Test starts on Friday, Thursday night local time, in Adelaide and chances are it will be Australia again.
Bravo and Ramdin have shown the West Indies batsmen how to bat, however, they have proven to them how important it is to think positively and to play positively, and if Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul can emulate them, if the gods are kinder to Lara - who was looking good until he was given out caught at the wicket off Warne - things could be different in Adelaide.
