A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.
| 1-1a | West Indies 32/0 off 15 | West Indies |
| 1-1b | West Indies 28/1 off 14 | Australia |
| 1-2a | West Indies 44/0 off 15 | West Indies |
| 1-2b | West Indies 54/1 off 15 | West Indies |
| 1-3a | West Indies 21/1 off 14 | Australia |
| 2-1a | West Indies 36/0 off 13 | West Indies |
| 2-1b | West Indies 25/1 off 10 | Australia |
| 2-1c | West Indies 51/1 off 9.3 | West Indies |
| 2-2a | West Indies 51/1 off 14.3 | West Indies |
| 2-2b | West Indies 48/1 off 13 | West Indies |
| 2-3a | West Indies 36/2 off 12 | Australia |
| 2-3b | West Indies 23/0 off 8 | Australia |
| Australia 44/0 off 9.5 | ||
| 3-1a | Australia 21/2 off 10.3 | West Indies |
| 3-1b | Australia 39/1 off 9.4 | Australia |
| 3-1c | Australia 29/0 off 12 | Australia |
| 3-2a | Australia 24/1 off 14 | West Indies |
| 3-2b | Australia 43/0 off 14 | Australia |
| 3-3 | Australia 48/1 off 25 | draw |
| 4-1a | Australia 25/2 off 11 | West Indies |
| 4-1b | Australia 39/1 off 9 | Australia |
| 4-1c | Australia 54/1 off 17 | Australia |
| 4-2a | Australia 38/0 off 12 | Australia |
| 4-2b | West Indies 4/3 off 4.2 | Australia |
| 4-3a | West Indies 60/1 off 21.4 | West Indies |
| 4-3b | West Indies 7/1 off 12 | Australia |
| 5-1a | West Indies 43/2 off 13 | Australia |
| 5-1b | West Indies 34/3 off 15.4 | Australia |
| 5-2a | Australia 31/1 off 10.2 | draw |
| 5-2b | Australia 30/0 off 11.4 | Australia |
| 5-3a | Australia 65/2 off 12 | Australia |
| 5-3b | Australia 66/4 off 13 | West Indies |
Australia win the match by 3 wickets and the mini-session count 17-12 Ironically West Indies take the last mini-session, despite not winning it by enough to stop Australia winning the match. I put mini-session 3-3a and 3-3b together as there were only 2 overs after drinks before they went off for bad light.
End of match: West Indies competed well for the first 2/3 of the match, but the 4.2 overs of 4-2b cost them in the end. Once Australia got ahead they never relented their lead. The two dropped catches before tea on the last day were also costly.
For Australia this will be a match that will fill them with a lot of confidence. They were under the pump, and fought back to win the match. It was appropriate that Hilfenhaus and Harris were at the crease when the winning runs were scored, as they were the two that really set up this game, first with the bat, then with the ball. They will be concerned at dropping 6 catches though. I'd imagine catching will be worked on at training.
For West Indies there are a lot of questions from this game. Sammy is at times brilliant as a captain, and at other times goes missing. Their batsmen had a great first innings, but that work was undone in the second innings. They created chances to take the game, but never quite took advantage of them.
Before the 1970's West Indies were the team that were noble in defeat. This was one of those situations again. I'm not sure that's a reputation that a team wants to have.
Final drinks break: Could Deonarine be the key that unlocks a victory for West Indies. All they need is 7 good pieces of cricket.
Tea, day 5: Two dropped catches have severely dented West Indies hopes here. If the score was 61/3 at tea, then this game would have a very different feel. As long as Watson is at the crease Australia will back their chances.
End of day 4: Australia lead the count, and probably the match. West Indies still have it in their power to draw or win the match, but it will take a very good day of cricket. A quickfire 50 from Sammy, and the pressure goes back onto the Australians. A conservative captain would certainly go for a draw from West Indies position. An attacking one would try for the win. Which cap is Sammy wearing? A fantastic declaration from Clarke has really set this match up well. I love it when teams declare behind.
Tea day 4: What a turn around. At 285/8 there looked to be only one team in this match. But isn't that the beauty of test cricket. West Indies now have a genuine fight on their hands to save this match. But they still are in a position where one good partnership could set up a win. They have two very good batsmen at the crease, So anything is possible. The last 8 hours of this match could be riveting.
End of day 3: West Indies hold the advantage in the match, but the draw is quickly closing as the favourite.
There is so much to look forward to tomorrow. The prospect of the new ball at the start of the day. The potential of a leg-spinner bowling at the tail. The approaches from the two captains. It's shaping up as a great day of cricket.
End of day 2: West Indies managed to build a great total by batting around Chanderpaul. Due to the time zone I didn't get to see much of Australia's bowling, but David Warner having the best figures probably says a lot. Most of the reports I've read suggest that the Australian team bowled too wide. Bowling a wide channel worked very well against the Indian team, but I can't see a team that Darren Sammy captains being undisciplined enough to find a 6th stump line challenging.
The only question I have is if West Indies have quite enough. I really rate Sammy. I think he is showing the same tendencies that Fleming was at a similar point in his career. However I think that 10 overs was probably too long to leave the Australian openers. An extra 20 runs taking 4 overs, would have meant that The Australian batsmen would have only had to face 6 overs, which would have played with their heads more. David Warner is a fantastic batsman when he knows what his role is. If you start making him double guess then you have a good chance at dismissing him. Likewise it would have meant starting day 3 with a ball that's only 6 overs old.
However this is the first big score any team has put up against Australia in a long time. It will be interesting to see how they respond. 3 times in history Australia have conceded 450 in the first innings and gone on to win the match, so any result from here is not impossible, but If West Indies get it right with the ball this target could be too much for Australia to overcome.
End of Day 1: West indies are marginally ahead here. As usual, the key is Chanderpaul. If they can get him out early, then Australia have a big shot at winning this match. However, if he can provide a platform for the rest of the players to attack, then West Indies could go on to make a good score here.
More than a quarter of the overs on the first day were of spin. How much will West Indies be missing not having any of Samuels, Gayle or Narine now. Scheduling test matches during the IPL is foolish from the WICB and ACB. It puts players in a very difficult position. The boards are unnecessarily testing their allegiance. It would be much more sensible to work the tours round the IPL and make sure they were not putting the players in this position.
very happy for WI how they have given hard time to oz.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian tail is a huge part of why they are such a successful test side. They are never beaten until they have lost, and teams all over the world know this. I think it is a big part of why West Indies collapsed so spectacularly in their second innings, the Aussie bowlers were confident after scoring big runs as a unit and the WI batsmen were sick of being out in the field after spending 45 overs trying and failing to dismiss the tail. I've written about it here: http://afinetale.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/tail-wags.html
ReplyDeleteWhew, what a final session. Gotta feel bad for the West Indies, they competed hard but will come away with nothing.
ReplyDelete