Date-stamped : 14 Apr95 - 10:40 West Indies v Australia, Test 2 Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua, 8,9,10,12,13 April 1995 ====> Prematch, 7 Apr 95 Beckett offers West Indies hope - Mike Selvey ANTIGUA Test matches, coming at the end of a series as they have done in the past, have been joyous occasions for West Indies supporters. The series won, the Recreation Ground has been a place for West Indies to strut their stuff. Chickies Disco thunders out in the Double Decca Stand, the rhythm of the Metal Band competes at the other end of the ground, and the resident transvestites Gravy and Mayfield cavort. It can be great stuff: sometimes world records get broken. Australia, four years ago, are the only side to have won here. Today the atmosphere might be different. This is only the second Test of a four -match series and West Indies are not just a match down to Australia, but after a 10-wicket defeat in Barba- dos inside three days, are in danger of losing credibility. The calypso singer Beckett`s "Rally Round the West Indies" - a Chick- ie favourite - will be put to the test. Australia outplayed West Indies in Bridgetown in all funda- mental departments of the game. Their inexperienced seam attack bowled to a proper length and on one side of the wicket only; Caribbean impatience and a hint of bounce and movement, particu- larly from Glenn McGrath in the second innings, did the rest. With the exception of Mark Taylor and the wonderful period on the first day when Lara and Hooper counterattacked, no batting was totally secure. But once more, Australia`s team ethic took them through: eight partnerships in excess of 27. Finally, their fielding was just too competitive. All of which would seem to make the second Test certain to go the same way. That is a dangerous presumption. West Indies have been slow out of the box before. In Bridgetown, in the second innings, the tail folded in an orgy of mindless slogging. It was as if they had given up, and when Australia began the chase for the 39 they needed, and the chance was there to offer a reminder of what awaits in the lock- er, Curtly Ambrose, probably the game`s most potent destroyer, stood idle at mid-off. It spoke volumes. But they have a strong new manager in Andy Roberts, and his post-match thoughts, rather like his bowling, were short and to the point. "You were shit," he harangued his squad. "You have two days to fix it." The same players, with the exception of the un- fortunate Barbadian Sherwin Campbell, will be attempting to do so. Fundamental to the improvement must be a more responsible ap- proach to batting, beginning with the openers, where the captain Richie Richardson will fill the breach left by Desmond Haynes (who, incidentally, has confirmed he will be suing the West In- dies Cricket Board, citing restraint of trade), but including the lower-order batsmen - all capable of half centuries at this level. The draw aside, Australia remain favourites, but are still vulnerable. West Indies have come back before: as Beckett`s calypso insists: "You know we are going to rise again like a rag- ing fire. Under sunshine we`re going to take this thing higher." They are more than capable this time. Source :: The Guardian Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 1, 8 Apr 95 The All Saints Iron band clanged and crashed with abandon, but it was the West Indian Cannonball Express which rocked Australia in the second test here yesterday. Led by Mr Indestructible, Court- ney Walsh, great survivor and ultimate professional, the West In- dies pacemen executed a merciless 216-run garotting of Australia after openers Michael Slater and Mark Taylor put on 82 in the opening session at St Johns` Recreation Ground. The West Indies resume at 0-14 this morning, Stuart Williams hav- ing enjoyed a priceless reprieve at two when Greg Blewett mislaid a juggling pad-bat catch at point from Paul Reiffel, half an hour before stumps. Having lost the toss for the second time in the series, Australia began fabulously through Taylor and Slater, only for Taylor to mis-hook a short-pitched delivery from Curtly Ambrose and sky the catch to Walsh - a serious misjudgement and a sadly misguided stroke just two deliveries from lunch. The broiling heat burned down and the pulsating drums of the steel and iron bands, periodically drowned out by Chickie`s Hi-Fi in the West Indies Oil Company Stand, provided a stifling atmo- sphere which added to the pressure enveloping Australia after lunch. Having cautioned his headstrong partner after a 13-run opening over assault on Carl Hooper - Slater drove the off-spinner out of the ground at long-on, then carted him away through mid-wicket - Taylor himself was the opener to succumb, skying Ambrose to Walsh parked inside the fine leg fence. Taylor rambled back, chastising himself all the way back to the pavilion, but not as much as he surely did through the ensuing hour as Slater, Mark Waugh, David Boon, and Steve Waugh came and went in disturbingly rapid fashion. In 13 fateful overs Australia slumped from 0-82 to 5-126, losing their top five batsmen for just 44 runs. It was stifling more than penetrating pace bowling, a slow strangulation of runs, the West Indies reducing the over-rate in an all-too-familiar manner to a painstaking 40 overs in 192 minutes after lunch, or almost five minutes an over. But there was some crude batting, too, by the Australians. Bowling into the cross-breeze before the capacity crowd, with the blue-capped inmates of the adjoining St Johns penitentiary pro- viding an enthusiastic Scotsmen`s Hill over the wall, Walsh gave a superbly varied and accurate display for 21.3 overs. Year in, year out, Walsh, 32, is freakish the way he manages to bowl for Jamaica, captain his county Gloucestershire and do yeo- man service for the West Indies without breaking down or simply going mad. In his 72nd Test, Walsh reached 263 wickets. He has already passed Andy Roberts (202), Garfield Sobers (235), Michael Holding (249) and now Joel Garner (259). Malcolm Marshall (376) and Lance Gibbs (309) tower ahead of the West Indian gi- ants. Soon after the resumption, attempting to cut Walsh against the bite of the pitch, Slater was followed as if by a heat-seeking missile, the ball appearing to strike his bat handle and thigh before deflecting to Jimmy Adams at short leg. Mark Waugh began with a glide off his legs to the fence, but like a salmon rising to the fly, he followed the delivery Walsh dragged away from him outside the off stump, and Carl Hooper reeled in the catch at second slip. Waugh`s form is a major concern at the moment. He is ill-at-ease against head-high deliveries, and the general uncertainty of Greg Blewett offers little more comfort. Walsh claimed the wickets of Slater and Waugh in four deliveries, by which time the Antiguan crowd was performing handstands. The West Indian pacemen`s general target area was the ribcage, and they kept the flak flying around Steve Waugh despite three hand- some strokes square of the wicket until he sliced Kenneth Benja- min into his wicket. In his 99th Test Boon had the short-lived satisfaction of reach- ing 7000 Test runs and passing Don Bradman`s 6996-run aggregate - from 52 Tests - before a beautifully-contrived slower yorker clipped his off stump, the Tasmanian aiming for mid-wicket. Walsh`s mutual joy with Jimmy Adams at short leg suggested the ploy worked a treat. St Johns is the most enjoyable Test ground in the Caribbean these days. The blasting drums make it the loudest, too. But just now and then the bald-faced pitch did not live up to its reputation and the ball skidded through low. A score of 300 might not be enough for the West Indies. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.usyd.edu.au) ====> Day 1, more Walsh demolishes Australian batting - Greg Truman Courtney Walsh took six for 54 in an inspired exhibition of fast bowling on Saturday as West Indies dismissed Australia for 216 on the first day of the second test. Walsh bowled with fire and finesse to put the unofficial world champions on top after their abject capitulation in the first test last Sunday. Captain Richie Richardson, who has borne the brunt of the widespread criticism throughout the Caribbean after the first test failure, asked Australia to bat on a hot, sunny day in front of a capacity crowd. It looked initially as if his gamble had misfired when Aus- tralia went to lunch at 82 for one after losing captain Mark Tay- lor in the final over for 37. But Walsh, so often the saviour of lost causes for the West Indies in recent years, picked up two wickets in his first over after the break as Australia first faltered then succumbed to the familiar West Indian pace barrage. Source :: The Reuter Library Report Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 2, 9 Apr 95 The incomprehensible second Test undertook its mid-afternoon switchback path again yesterday, enabling Australia to finish within breathing distance of the West Indies. Steve Waugh, who dislocated his right shoulder in Lahore last Oc- tober yet was able to dismiss Brian Lara and Carl Hooper in a four-ball bonanza, described bowling out the West Indies for 260 as a superior performance to anything achieved in the Barbados Test win. ``Dismissing them for anything under 300 was a really good effort on that pitch,`` he said. ``It`s easy to play well when you are on top, but to come from behind showed a lot of character. Bowl- ing them out for 260 was a better effort for us than anything on the three days in Barbados.`` Australia, trailing by 44 runs on the first innings, were 0-16 at stumps in their second innings. In the late afternoon of the second day at St Johns` Recreation Ground in Antigua, Mark Taylor and Michael Slater endured a torrid nine overs from Curtly Am- brose and Courtney Walsh, during which Taylor was struck two shuddering blows on the shoulder and one on the forearm. After Ambrose cracked the unflinching Taylor on the shoulder a second time, the fast bowler stood at the edge of the pitch glowering silently at the Australian captain. Antigua`s king tides must have been on the afternoon run-in again yesterday as this unfathomable Test plumbed rare shallows and depths. Nothing is predictable about it, everything erratic, save perhaps Lara`s majesty. His world records suggested it, but he is the best batsman in the world, superior even to India`s Sachin Tendulkar. A century was a formality until David Boon`s astonishing left-handed leaping catch at mid-on to end his 102-ball innings. Lara struck 15 boun- daries in his 88. In Boon`s 99th Test, in which he has overtaken Sir Don Bradman`s Test aggregate if not his average, umpire Steve Bucknor asked him, ``Are you 34 or 25?`` ``To get a catch like that - at my age - is special,`` Boon said later. ``I thought I was a bit far away, but I got there.`` In discussing the dismissals of Lara and Hooper (11), Steve Waugh said: ``Brian is always a challenge. The way he was playing to- day, 375 did not look out of the question again. But I nipped him in the bud.`` Lara attempted to work Waugh`s medium-pacer through long-on, striving to loft it over Boon, only for the veteran to hold a one-handed catch Mark Waugh might have taken. Steve Waugh always fancies his chances against Hooper, the other form batsman in the side. Having been whipped away through mid- wicket minutes before, he again varied his pace to confuse Hoop- er, who gently chipped it low to Brendon Julian at mid-wicket. It is the most inexplicable match. The Recreation Ground pitch is slow-paced, inclined to keeping low, but its behaviour was truer than on the first day when Australia were 0-82 and all out for 216 on a good pitch 39 overs later. The West Indies charged to 1-106, with Lara positively flying along, only to lose their last eight wickets for 92 runs in 31 overs. Throughout, the fast bowling has been borderline intimidation. Glenn McGrath gave Kenny Benjamin and Winston Benjamin two bounc- ers each in the one over and umpires Bucknor and David Shepherd were happy. The batsmen slowly wilted in the Test heat, making for the most brutally absorbing match. The stature of new-ball bowler Paul Reiffel continues to rise. He was total reliability, rocking in, prising out Junior Murray, Am- brose and Walsh in three overs while leg-spinner Shane Warne had occasional rather than regular success, including weeding out Keith Arthurton after being clouted for two sixes. ``The big thing is we`re not relying on Warney to take all the wickets,`` Steve Waugh said. ``The other guys are bowling just as well. They look just as dangerous. It makes Warney relax a little bit more. The guys realise that if they bowl well here, they have a huge opportunity over the next couple of years to cement a spot.`` But Waugh predicted Warne`s day would dawn in the West Indies, declaring: ``He will go through these guys on at least one occa- sion this trip. I don`t know when it will be. It might be the fourth innings of this game. But you never bet against Warney. He`s probably not bowling as well as he has for the last 18 months, but the guy is only human. He still has taken eight wick- ets in three innings.`` Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.usyd.edu.au) ====> Day 2, more Lara Caught Short - Mike Selvey CONSIDERING West Indies, one down in the series, had dismissed Australia for 216 on the first day at the Recreation Ground, they failed to capitalise. Despite a thrilling 88 from Brian Lara - a mere one-act play compared to his lavish production last year - they were dismissed for 260, a lead of only 44, which Australia, in nine torrid overs at the end, had reduced by 16. They will not be displeased: it is West Indies who must bat last. Not for the first time on this ground Lara batted like a dream, his 101 ball innings providing 2 1/2 hours worth of ex- quisite strokeplay as brimful of good things while it lasted as his world record 375 here less than a year ago. In all, 60 of his runs came in boundaries to all parts of the ground, each one a jewel of precise placement, chronometer timing and unseemly power for such a small man. Shane Warne was pulled over a vacant midwicket; the left arm seam of Brendon Julian just appeared to float into the slot, and one ball from Glenn McGrath, fractionally outside off stump, seemed to give him myriad options where other mortals would be content with one. Back foot drive? No, man placed for that. How about the square cut, then? No, two men in the vicinity. So in- stead he stood up and angled it down to the third man boundary. That is indecent batting. He survived a close call when Greg Blewett threw down his stumps as he and Jimmy Adams took a tight single, but it took a very special piece of cricket to remove him. Steve Waugh, whose integrity had been brought into question after his gully catch had got rid of Lara in Bridgetown, delivered a devious slower ball from round the wicket that Lara clipped a little early towards short midwicket, where David Boon was lurking. Somehow he got aloft, flung out his left hand, and a wonderful catch stuck. Lara, another world record down the pan, looked mortified. Yet again, though, tribute has to be paid to Australian per- sistence for despite Lara`s onslaught, they chipped away, holding what chances came their way and gradually eroding the order. Source :: The Guardian Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 3, 10 Apr 95 A ``thrower`` accusation hung over the second Test as Australia waded through a rain-broken day to establish a precarious 90-run lead yesterday. A former international said of one fast bowler in the match: ``It was blatant. On the TV highlights of the game filmed from mid- off, it was like watching a baseball pitcher.`` For some years, rumours about a ``chucker`` in the West Indian team have been prevalent, the accusations revolving around his faster delivery. Accusations are one thing. Proof is another. Australian coach Bob Simpson, back in the fold after a week in hospital in Barbados, made no accusation other than to say it was not the duty of a team to denounce any chucker. ``It`s nothing to do with the team. It`s up to the umpire or even the referee to accept the responsibility they`ve got,`` he said. ``Their job is to police all aspects of the law. It`s always one they have been reluctant to do.`` Simpson said that while an umpire ruling out a batsman lbw could have a dramatic effect on his career, likewise the no-balling of a bowler for throwing would have an important effect, saying: ``I don`t see any difference. I never have.`` ``I have always been a strong advocate that if a person does not deliver a ball a fair way, he is outside the laws of the game,`` he said. Following the loss of both openers, Mark Taylor and Michael Slater, while still in first innings debt, David Boon (60 not out) and Mark Waugh (42 not out) roped together their resources of 145 Tests` experience to clamber up the mountain to provide Australia with a tenuous, still vulnerable, but precious lead. Australia are 2-134 after trailing by 44 runs on the first in- nings in a tight, tough, tense, match. Today is a rest day. Two days remain for a decision, and while the West Indies are en- titled to warm favouritism to win the Test and level the four- match series, Australia could turn the stiletto, especially if this pair continue their bountiful 91-run partnership. Waugh began with a six from Courtney Walsh to fine leg, took a slow ``beamer`` on the shoulder the following ball when it slipped from Walsh`s hand, was struck near the elbow by the same bowler and carried on resolutely in a 108-minute effort which re- stored spirit to a team beginning to sg at the knees. Walsh`s ``beamer`` appeared accidental. The ball was wet, bowled as a slower delivery and the veteran immediately apologised. But English umpire David Shepherd belatedly called no-ball and warned Walsh about the delivery. Simpson believes that with the Recreation Ground pitch dry and hard, but lacerating from the Australian boot spikes, leg-spinner Shane Warne will emerge in sharp focus on the last day. ``It will obviously spin,`` he said. ``There`s a hell of a lot of roughage from the southern end and it is playing up and down. I felt it would be a four-day match after the first innings scores, but obviously it won`t be now. A lead of 250 would be very hard to get.`` With three rain interruptions costing 221 minutes` play, and no means available to make up the lost time, the disrupted day threatened to be disastrous for Australia after Mark Taylor`s early attempted hook misfired and he brushed the leg-side catch to Junior Murray. Walsh`s vicious, rearing, inswinging delivery which claimed Slater, however, was the ball of the match. The opener did well to fend it off only for Richie Richardson to hold a stunning right-hand, swooping catch at third slip when it appeared to have eluded him. Boon and Waugh had some understandable apprehension, but Curtly Ambrose still lacked his malevolence of recent years and Walsh did not appreciate Richardson`s decision to swing him to the Fac- tory Road end when his early wicket-taking was achieved from the Members` end. Eventually, almost as a late dismissive gesture, Wlash reduced his bowling approach to avoid skating across a slippery section covered in sawdust and was not the same potent force. Initially leaden-footed, Boon warmed to his task and in 133 minutes cracked away some robust square cuts for eight boun- daries, while Waugh struck five boundaries and the six. Drying the pitch Caribbean-style was in evidence when a tin con- taining burning coal and paraffin was placed over an apple-sized patch of moisture, not in a dangerous area. The operation was su- pervised by referee Majid Khan, umpire Steve Bucknor and coach Simpson. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.usyd.edu.au) ====> Day 3, more Boon, Mark Waugh Shore Up Aussies - Craig Cozier David Boon and Mark Waugh added an unbeaten 91 for the third wicket to shore up Australia on a rainy Monday, the third day of the second Cable and Wireless cricket Test against the West In- dies. On a day when 56 overs were lost to rain in three separate stoppages, Australia ended on 134 for two, a lead of 90 going into Tuesday`s rest day. Boon, the 34-year-old Tasmanian, was undefeated 60 and Waugh 42. Fast bowler Courtney Walsh, West Indies` hero in the first in- nings with six wickets, struck twice in the early play. Australia`s openers had added just six runs to their overnight score of 16 when Walsh removed their captain, Mark Taylor. He was out hooking for the second time in the match, this time gloving to wicket-keeper Junior Murray down the leg side. The first rain interruption came just 15 minutes later with Australia 31 for one. Umpires Steve Bucknor of Jamaica and David Shepherd of England called an early lunch and play resumed under overcast skies 25 minutes late after the break. Showers were imminent, but Jamaican Walsh broke through again in last of the 14 balls possible. He claimed the wicket of Michael Slater, magnificently caught by Richie Richardson at third slip, leaping full stretch to clutch the chance one-handed, wide and low to his right. Slater made 18 and his dismissal left the tourists struggling at 43 for two, still one run short of erasing the first innings de- ficit. Boon and Mark Waugh carefully negotiated a further 20-minute burst of play between lunch and tea when the West Indies fast bowlers, led by Walsh, were firing on all cylinders. They saw off the threat and blossomed as the sun returned when they resumed for the final time at 60 for two. An hour and 25 minutes remained to face 21 overs and the experienced pair shift- ed the initiative back to Australia. Boon, in his 99th Test, and Waugh, in his 46th, saw off Walsh and took to the less testing offerings of the Benjamins, Winston and Kenneth. Boon has faced 99 balls and hit eight fours in 136 minutes at the crease. Waugh`s needed 68 balls for his 42, which included five fours and a hooked six off Walsh, and has lasted 110 minutes. Walsh`s two wickets for 39 runs off 15 overs represented the only successes for the West Indies. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 3, more Simpson`s happy about Australia`s chances Australian coach Bob Simpson said: ``I think for the first time in the match you could probably say we are on top.`` The Australian camp expected the wicket to play perfectly for leg spinner Shane Warne on the last two days after Tuesday`s rest day. Simpson, looking ahead to West Indies batting last, said ``250 would be hard to get. ``It`s obviously going to spin ... and it`s going to play up and down.`` The Australians resumed on 16 for no wicket, still 28 runs behind, realising the loss of early wickets would hand the advan- tage to West Indies. As cautious as he was, Taylor could not resist the hook shot and for the second time in the match it cost him his wicket. He added only one run to his overnight score before touching on a rearing Courtney Walsh delivery to wicketkeeper Junior Mur- ray with the Australians on 22 and still in debit. Rain forced players from the field with Australia 31 for one and the umpires opted for an early lunch. Occasional downpours prevented further play in the second ses- sion except for two brief stints. The first 12-minute resumption was long enough for Richardson to take one of the best test cricket catches in many years. Rain was falling as Slater received a short delivery from Walsh. He tried to play a controlled shot in the air wide of gully, but it went close enough to Richardson at third slip for the West Indies captain to get a sniff of a catch. He quickly shuffled in the direction of the ball before taking off, leaping high to his right, arm outstretched. The Recreation Ground crowd was astonished that he got a finger to the ball let alone clasp it for Slater`s demise with the Australian score on 43. After tea the rain cleared allowing West Indies 21 overs to pick up a few more Australian wickets. But Waugh and Boon found their best form of the tour and moved Australia into a sound position by stumps. Source :: The Reuter Library Report Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 3, more Home record the spur for Walsh and his fading giants - Mike Selvey THE 21 OVERS bowled on Monday evening, when the showers fi- nally relented and David Boon and Mark Waugh added 90 for the third Australian wicket, could prove pivotal in this match and series, and a watershed in West Indies Test history. Until now neither batsman has been in prime form. Boon, the chunky bedrock of the Australian batting for the past decade, has been so short of runs since his century against England at Mel- bourne that many suspected his powers were on the wane. Nor, with Steve Waugh`s return to bowling fitness, has Mark Waugh`s continued place in the side been a foregone conclusion. Despite healthy averages both twins have suspect techniques against pace and roughing them up is a natural consequence. Steve, apparently the more vulnerable, has shown the more steel - but it was Mark who joined Boon on a pitch made friskier by the rain and a long steaming under the covers, with Australia still a run in arrears and Courtney Walsh at his passionate best. Had they not survived, Australia could have folded and West In- dies might have been looking at victory today and a level series. Instead Boon clipped and carved a deadpan 60 while Waugh compiled 42. His juices flowing after hooking Walsh for six, he survived the accidental beamer next ball and saw his confidence grow by the over. If they can extend their partnership this morning and the rest of the Australian batting can draw strength from it, a lead of 250 - another 160 runs or so - ought to be sufficient, with heaps of rough and a last-day pitch, for Shane Warne to bowl them to a second win. Much will depend today on how hard West Indies fight to pro- tect a proud unbeaten home record that goes back 22 years. The response of Walsh and Curtly Ambrose will be crucial. In the absence of Richie Richardson this past year it has been Walsh, as captain, who has provided the inspiration. The Jamaican lifted them to a series-saving win in Chandighar in De- cember and hauled them to an equally improbable but politi- cally vital win against South Africa on their first visit to the Carib- bean. It was Walsh who insisted that the West Indies crest be rein- stated on the shirt -breast, where it had been replaced by a sponsor`s logo, and Walsh who roused himself in the first innings of this match when Australia threatened to be front-runners from the starting pistol. Walsh is a mighty competitor who recognises the game`s unify- ing power here, the status a successful team confers to all Caribbean people and the duty it expects from those who fight for West Indian supremacy. The need to protect their home record goes beyond a mere Test series but this is no longer a fearsome West Indies attack to be whispered about in hushed tones. Ambrose is recovered from sur- gery but has so far been a shadow of the bowler regarded as the most clinical destroyer in the game. He has not looked fit; perhaps the indefinable spark that makes a genius is gone for ever. Walsh and the whole of his team must know that the end of an era is ever closer at hand, and there is no greater burden in the game than having to defy that. Source :: The Guardian Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 4, 12 Apr 95 Rain Curtails Evenly Poised Australia, West Indies Battle - Craig Cozier Rain forced an early close to the fourth Cable and Wireless cricket test Wednesday, leaving the West Indies and Australia delicately balanced in the fourth day of play. Heavy showers that swept across the Antigua Recreation Ground during the tea interval saturated the outfield and caused umpires Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd to call off play. By then, Aus- tralia had extended their overnight 134 for two to 273 for seven, a lead of 229 going into Thursday`s final day. Steve Waugh, the 29-year-old New South Wales right-hander, in his 74th test and 14th against the West Indies, was unbeaten 52, in 211 minutes batting. He has hit two fours and a six. West Indies grabbed the early advantage on a gripping day, fast bowler Winston Benjamin supplying two early breakthroughs. In the day`s fifth over, he removed David Boon, leg before playing no shot to an inswinger. Boon, 60 overnight, added just seven runs before his third wicket stand of 106 with Mark Waugh was ended. The 34-year-old Tasmanian batted 161 minutes and hit nine fours. Waugh followed 13 runs later, at 162, bowled middle stump by an inswinging Benjamin Yorker. Waugh hit seven fours and a six in his 61. Steve Waugh and Greg Blewett revived the innings in a fifth wicket partnership of 34 when off-spinner Carl Hooper struck a decisive blow five minutes before lunch. Blewett was excellently caught by Stuart Williams low to his left at first slip for 19. After the break, Waugh and wicket-keeper Ian Healy shifted the edge back to the visitors by adding 58 for the sixth wicket. They saw off the occasional spin of Hooper and left-armer Jimmy Adams and comfortably resisted the second new ball when it was belated- ly taken. But as Australia threatened to take command, West Indies struck twice just ahead of tea to put the contest back on even keel. Ian Healy made a typically dogged 26 before he edged to Hooper at second slip to become fast bowler Courtney Walsh`s third wick- et in the innings, to add to his first innings haul of six. Then, in the last over before the interval, Brendon Julian was run out by Adams` throw to the wicket-keeper as Steve Waugh sought a third run on his flick to deep square leg. By then, dark clouds had swept across the ground and heavy rain wiped out what was set to be an enthralling final session. Walsh`s three wickets for 75 runs off 32 overs was the best West Indian effort, while Winston Benjamin had two for 65 off 20.3 overs. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 4, more A rainbow filled the sky over Antigua minutes after a rain squall intruded on the second Test yesterday in a day of mystifying cap- taincy by Richie Richardson and monolithic batting by Steve Waugh. Stabilised by Waugh`s 3 1/2-hour innings of 52 not out, Australia inched their way to 7-273 for a 229-run lead with a day remaining for a decision. But the pot of gold is still as deeply buried as on the first day of this mystery tour of a Test. On the fourth day, with the session after tea lost due to heavy rain, it was Waugh`s unrivalled spirit of resistance which raised smelling salts to Australia`s nostrils after the first-hour loss of David Boon (67) and Mark Waugh (61) left the tourists sagging at 4-162. At that time, with 11 hours remaining and Australia leading by only 118 runs, the likelihood of a West Indies victory to level the series loomed as large as Nelson`s Dockyard. As much as Waugh`s partnerships with Greg Blewett (19), Ian Healy (26) and Brendon Julian (6), which ate up more than three hours of precious West Indian time, the perplexing bowling strategy of Richardson confounded and confused his team. In just under four hours` play, Richardson gave his indolent match-winner Curtly Ambrose (0-42) just seven overs, ignoring his Antiguan teammate for the second new ball, and bypassed Winston Benjamin (2-65) for all but the last 10 minutes of the afternoon session after his first-hour honours of dismissing Boon and Mark Waugh in three overs. A despairing former West Indian Test batsman said: ``It`s Winston`s day. He got the two best batsmen out in less than an hour, and he`s not been used for 2 1/2 hours.`` Steve Waugh is serious, never smug. Justifiably well-satisfied, he said: ``There`s a big chance of a win out there. Another 30 or 40 runs would be nice for us. Hopefully we can declare and set them about 270 from 70 overs. That`s the perfect scenario. If we get 70 to 75 overs at them, I think we can bowl them out. ``The wicket`s doing enough and there`ll be a lot of pressure on their guys to perform. If we bowl well, catch well, we`ll win the game. If we don`t, we`ll draw or could lose the game. The situation`s perfect. If we`re good enough, we`re going to win.`` Waugh pointed to the significant turn which finger-spinners Carl Hooper (1-14) and Jimmy Adams (0-16) extracted from the pitch, and considered that leg-spinner Shane Warne could have his day in the sun. ``It`s a good sign for us because they don`t put much work on the ball,`` Waugh said. ``Hooper made the ball turn and bounce out of the rough. There`s definitely signs it will do something tomor- row. A few balls kept low from their pacemen. It`s not easy scor- ing runs if you bowl well.`` Waugh was in his element, scrapping and scratching for runs in the dog-eat-dog atmosphere. He pulled a six from left-arm tweaker Adams soon after lunch and struck just two boundaries, the aging pitch suiting his game and cutting the fast men to size. Waugh described it as ``hard work``, but it was good work, and he loved it. His only regret came right on tea when he took a third run off Adams and saw Julian run out by the long throw from square leg to wicketkeeper Junior Murray. Once again, Healy came to the party with a robust 82-minute in- nings, putting on 58 runs with Waugh. Earlier, Blewett produced a brilliant cover drive and appeared to be returning to his best after a slow start before cutting Hooper moments before lunch for a wide catch to be snared by the agile, quick-witted Stuart Wil- liams, diving at slip. Waugh said: ``In the context of the game, we could not afford to be too extravagant out there and play too many shots. If we`d lost one or two more wickets, they would have been well on top. It was a tough battle and neither side was giving in. It was al- ways going to be tough to get runs. We had to grind them out. Looking at the position of the game, we`re probably better placed than they are at the moment.`` Boon and Mark Waugh came together with Australia still ``in the red`` and added 106 in just over two hours before Benjamin de- ceived Boon with an in-swinger, trapping him with his bat over his shoulder, and then yorked Waugh with another late in-ducker. How times have changed. The very shadow of Steve Waugh approach- ing the wicket in the past would have had Ambrose pushing off the white-washed wall of the Viv Richards Pavilion. Now, Richardson has Ambrose prowling the outfield fence or amusing himself at ex- tra cover. Generally, the signs are excellent for Australia. Sadly, the ground was so saturated and the drying devices so primitive that more rain on the last day may deprive Australia of a 2-0 lead. Thanks :: Phil Wilkins, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.usyd.edu.au)