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Cricket: W Indies put to the sword by Hayden

West Indies 130 Australia 434-5

Tony Cozier
Monday 27 January 1997 00:02 GMT
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Appropriately, on their annual National Day and watched by their Prime Minister, John Howard, Australia continued to pile on the agony for the West Indies on the second day of the fourth Test here yesterday.

Partnerships of 164 between the left-handed opener Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh and 148 unbroken between another left-right combination, Greg Blewett and Michael Bevan, put Australia in command.

Hayden's 125 was his maiden hundred in his third Test and every run made the West Indies' 130 look punier and, with a lead of 304, three days remaining and a 2-1 advantage in the series, the Australians have all but retained the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Throughout the long, hot day the West Indies' anguish was compounded by constant and undeserved misfortune. Three times, crucial wickets were negated by no-ball calls, three chances were missed, frequent edged strokes either whizzed past the stumps or fell agonisingly wide of fielders and umpires David Shepherd and Steve Randell could not be persuaded to agree with even one of the dozen or so assertive appeals, mainly for lbw.

Hayden had not added to his overnight 66 when he cut Ian Bishop's illegal delivery to point. Blewett was 14 when he edged another no ball from the exasperated captain Courtney Walsh low to second slip and Bevan was 11 when he chopped the over-stepping Bishop into his stumps.

The wicketkeeper Junior Murray dropped a snick off Walsh when the tall but leaden-footed Hayden was 83 and missed an awkward stumping off Hooper's bouncing off-break out of the rough when Bevan was nine. Then Blewett top-edged a pull off Cameron Cuffy. The ball skied into the leg-side, Walsh stepped forward from mid-on, settled himself under it, and let it spill to grass. At once 11 heads dropped and 22 shoulders stooped. It would take a lot to lift them again over the remaining days.

Second day; West Indies won toss

WEST INDIES - First Innings 130 (M Bevan 4-31, S Warne 3-42).

AUSTRALIA - First Innings

(Overnight: 139 for 2)

*M A Taylor lbw Bishop 11

M L Hayden st Murray b Hooper 125

J L Langer c Murray b Cuffy 19

M E Waugh c Murray b Hooper 82

S R Waugh c Hooper b Chanderpaul 26

G S Blewett not out 91

M G Bevan not out 47

Extras (b2 lb12 w4 nb15) 33

Total (for 5, 130 overs) 434

Fall: 1-35, 2-78, 3-242, 4-288, 5-288.

To bat: I A Healy, S K Warne, A J Bichel, G D McGrath.

Bowling: Walsh 27-3-84-0 (nb4); Bishop 25-3-70-1 (nb10, w1); Cuffy 24- 3-88-1 (nb1, w2); Thompson 13-0-67-0 (w-1); Hooper 30-6-86-2; Adams 8- 0-23-0; Chanderpaul 3-1-2-1.

Umpires: S Randell (Aus) and D R Shepherd (Eng).

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