Aussies v. Windies - Second Test

[HAL]

I hadn't thought of that.

[Donny]

OK. Tea has arrived. Only 52 overs bowled.

Australia are 2/228 with 38 overs to be bowled in the last session.

Ponting is 85 n.o. and Lehmann, 80. Their partnership is 172.

[Northern Pie]

Another Incredible innings by Ponting....is this man seeing Basketballs out there?? and surprisingly Lehmann stays with him.....what an incredibel team we Australians have.....

5 overs to go and 365 for 2...partnership is currently 309 runs...Amazing stuff!

Cheers

[Northern Pie]

and Lehmann goes for 160...I certainly would never have expected that..well done Lehmann and go the Aussie's!!!!

Cheers

[HAL]

What would make you never have expected that?

[Northern Pie]

Oh man how rediculous..the night watchman is Gilchrist...What a luxury....

Must be scary to the opposition when a guy like Gilchrist is coming out as a night watchman....

20 runs off 5 overs...things don't look too good for the Windies.....


Cheers

[JLC]

This time the Aussies received some dodgy LBW decisions accoring to the commentators. Me thinks the umpires have to consult their rule books.

Well done to Darren Lehmann who finally scored his maiden test century. Did't see the innings but i guess it must have been entertaining.

The West Indies bowling attack have been a disappointment this series. One must question the effect of sacking Hooper had on team moral.

jlc

[Donny]

At stumps, Australia are 3/391.

A wonderful 3rd. wicket partnership of 315 in 438 balls from the Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, and Darren Lehmann, was the highlight of the first day's play.

Lehmann scored 160 of them. Through the week, he had put himself on notice by bravely declaring this was his last chance. What an innings!!

His first 50 took 90 balls, his second took 67 and his last 60 came up in 68. He hit 21 fours and 1 six.

Ponting is on 146 n.o. (19 fours and 1 six) and could get anything tomorrow but will probably begin by feeding the strike to Adam Gilchrist.

[Donny]

JLC, It's not the law book Asoka needs to look at - it's the phone book !!

Yellow Pages, Optometrists.

The law re. 'ball pitching outside the line of leg' is clear enough - it's almost the easiest to understand - but much better umpires than de Silva have got it wrong on occasions. It's just that the two given today were so glaringly wrong.

I don't want the umpires completely replaced by machines but this area certainly should be looked at in this regard.

Harbhajan's hat trick against Australia will always be tainted because the ball was clearly shown to have pitched outside the line in the Gilchrist lbw, the second wicket.

Chanderpaul had hit 100 in 69 balls, in the first Test, when given out with the ball clearly pitching WELL outside the line.

We have the technology and can get a replay, complete with superimposed tramlines, in a few seconds. The ump could think, "Mmm that's hitting the stumps but it was close to the legstump line. I'll check with the 3rd. umpy"

As far as time lost is concerned, the whole process would take maybe 10 seconds. Far less than the time taken in the other two areas where the 3rd. umpire and replays are consulted.

[BJ]

WI Bowling stats

Bowling O M R W
Dillon 21 1 79 0
Collins 19 1 83 0
Drakes 19 3 79 1
Samuels 15 1 74 0
Bernard 8 1 47 0
Sarwan 1 0 3 0
Hinds 7 0 20 0

Asoka Desilva Overs 0 Maidens 0 Runs 0 Wickets 2

[Donny]

AN AUSTRALIAN RUN-FEST AT TRINIDAD - Cricinfo

This should have been Brian Lara's day, a triumphant homecoming for the newly-reappointed West Indies captain. But aside from two awful umpiring decisions by Asoka de Silva, little went right for him. He lost the toss, watched helpless as Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting completed big hundreds in Australia’s 391 for 3, and saw his bowlers look inept even by the low standards they had set in Guyana.

Ponting (146*) and Lehmann (160) feasted against an attack who appeared incapable of bowling an over without it containing at least one bad ball. Both batsmen drove anything overpitched – and there was no shortage – back past the bowlers with savagery, and clinically exploited the width they were given.

Both completed their hundreds within an over of each other – Lehmann's being his first and only his third score over fifty in his tenth Test – and both batted with the ease of men playing against opponents several divisions below them in terms of ability.

West Indies came into the match with a bowling attack which reeked of defensiveness and as good as admitted that they had little belief they could win the match. It was cruelly and ruthlessly exposed by one batsman with a point to prove and one in the form of his life.

Lehmann was running out of chances to cement his place in Australia's middle-order; Ponting came into the game with 329 runs for once out from his previous three international innings. The result was carnage.

Both were dropped once. Ponting's was a routine chance to Marlon Samuels at first slip off Merv Dillon before he had reached fifty; Lehmann a harder, high effort after he had passed his hundred which wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh juggled and grounded. Lehmann also benefited from a poor piece of umpiring when Rudi Koertzen somehow missed a big edge to Baugh shortly before tea. Those abberations aside, it was one-way traffic until a tired Lehmann was cramped as he tried to cut Vasbert Drakes late on and feathered an edge to Baugh (371 for 3).

Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden had got Australia off to a confident start when de Silva, lambasted after a string of dubious decisions in Guyana, struck. Dillon had two vociferous appeals for leg-before turned down by de Silva, both rightly as the ball had pitched outside leg stump. But, bowling over the wicket to the left-handed Langer, he again struck the pad as Langer looked to turn the ball to leg, again appealed and this time de Silva agreed. Langer departed for 25, and replays showed that the ball had pitched further outside leg than the two previously turned down (49 for 1).

With the first ball of his next over Dillon and de Silva struck again to dismiss Hayden lbw for 30, a virtual replay of the first wicket and just as poor an error of judgment from the umpire (56 for 2). Umpiring is a hard and unenviable job, but de Silva's confidence appears to be shot and he needs a rest.

But rather than open up the floodgates, the injustices just made Australia more focussed, and a third shocking decision looked to be the only way West Indies would breakthrough again.

In fairness to Lara, whereas Australia had the luxury of naming the same side which won by nine wickets at Georgetown, West Indies had three changes forced on them. The biggest blow was the loss of Shivnarine Chanderpaul shortly before the start – he failed to shake off the knee injury he picked up at Bourda – and they brought in two players – David Bernard and Baugh – for their debuts. Only two of the West Indies side is over 30 and it bodes well for the future. But things could get far more painful before then

[JLC]

Kirtsen is a joke of an umpire.......lmao

Lehmann got the biggest nick you could see and he was given not out caught behind prior to reaching his centiry. Umpiring has hit a new low......lol lol Surely there are better umpires in cricket ??


jlc

[Donny]

The first 10 overs yeilded only 27 runs but this was more the Australians setting themselves up for the day that the Windies drying up the runs.

Anyway the new ball was taken at 95 overs so expect some action soon.

[Donny]

The floodgates are opening !

Gilly's 50 (52) came up from 60 balls. He's now 56. Punter is on 185. 3/487.

[HAL]

I think Punter is a lot of things.