With Lara, Mission Still Possible

At the end of the fourth day's play, the second test match at the Queen's Park Oval was perfectly poised for an interesting finale. When compared with the last few series between the two sides, which have been thoroughly dominated by Australia, for at least a few sessions, this match better reflected the grand rivalry between the West Indies and Australia.

The odds should certainly favour Australia in this match, but with Brian Lara at the crease with a half-century to his name, there is certainly a lot of cricket to be played before this game can be consigned to cricket history.

As expected, Australia consolidated on their overnight score of 31/2 before accelarating on to a large score. The West Indian bowling performance in the second innings was better than in the first, but still hardly enough to worry the Australians. The main objective for the West Indies would have been to slow Australia down enough to ensure that their batsmen did not have to bat for too long in the fourth innings.

Considering that Australia did not maintain their usual four and a half run per over scoring rate in the second innings, one could reasonably say that the West Indies marginally succeeded. However, there were certainly no bowling heroes, and nothing could stop Australia from setting the West Indies 407 runs to win, or survive a minimum of 126 overs to draw the game.

If the West Indian bowling performance in the second innings was marginally better than in the first, the fielding was still below par. Lackadaisical work in the field, coupled with excellent Australian running between wickets saw numerous runs being conceded in the second innings as well. Unusually for him, Wavell Hinds was responsible for both a dropped catch, as well as for a missed run out. These may not make a substantial difference to the outcome of this match, given that it was very clear that the Australians were going to set a stiff target for the fourth innings, and therefore, the match was going to revolve around the West Indian batting in the second innings.

The batting in the second innings, or what we have seen so far, has been a mixed bag. Devon Smith was dismissed lbw for a pair courtesy another poor decision by Ashoka De Silva, the ball clearly striking the pads outside the line of off stump. One wonders how many errors De Silva will have to make before the ICC takes notice?

Ganga endured a testing time before edging Gillespie for Hayden to take a very good catch in the slips. Given the manner in which Ganga had batted in the first innings, this was a crucial wicket for Australia.

Wavell Hinds, on the other hand, vindicated the selectors' continued faith in him by playing a gritty innings. He had his share of luck, but showed a marked tendency to put his head down and support his captain, Brian Lara.

While Hinds played some characteristic rousing shots, he also had his moments of anxiety, especially against the spinners. Lara, on the other hand, played yet another commanding innings. It is a testimony to his ability to score runs on the big occasions that this match is still deemed to be alive, given that the West Indian team is chasing a target of 407 against the best bowling lineup in the world.

A partnership of 95 between Hinds and Lara saw the West Indies progress to 107/2 before a defensive shot from Hinds saw the ball slide off the middle of the bat before bouncing and dislodging a bail. That late dismissal certainly tilted the scales even further in favour of Australia, but with Lara still at the crease, and with Sarwan and Samuels to follow, West Indians fans should look forward to a spirited batting display on the final day, if nothing else. Anything more ambitious than that, from the West Indian point of view, can be expected only if the overnight pair of Lara and Sarwan bat till lunch or further.