Hayden sets formidable task for West Indies

Australia 240 and 417 West Indies 240 and 47

An opening partnership of 242 between the left-handers Justin Langer, who made 111, and Matthew Hayden, 177, yesterday set up Australia for the victory in the fourth and final Test that would complete the first clean sweep of a series by a visiting team in the Caribbean.

An opening partnership of 242 between the left-handers Justin Langer, who made 111, and Matthew Hayden, 177, yesterday set up Australia for the victory in the fourth and final Test that would complete the first clean sweep of a series by a visiting team in the Caribbean.

It was the foundation of a total of 417 that left the West Indies the unlikely task of scoring 418 over the minimum 203 overs remaining in the match to break Australia's sequence of 10 consecutive wins in matches between the teams.

In 23 overs available to the third day, the openers Chris Gayle and Devon Smith came through an examination of searing pace from Brett Lee.

Australia's opening stand, continued from 171 overnight, was the fifth time Langer and Hayden had passed 200 in 36 innings together, beating the four by the West Indies' Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes as the most by any Test pair. Once Langer was taken at slip off the off-spinner Chris Gayle an hour and a quarter into the day after his 15th Test hundred, the West Indies finished off the innings for the addition of another 175, in spite of the absence of fast bowler Jermaine Lawson.

Third day; Australia won toss

AUSTRALIA – First Innings 240 (J J C Lawson 7-78).

WEST INDIES – First Innings 240 (B C Lara 68).

AUSTRALIA – Second Innings (Overnight: 171-0)
J L Langer c Lara b Gayle 111
M L Hayden run out 177
A C Gilchrist c Sub b Banks 6
M L Love c Sub b Banks 2
D S Lehmann b Dillon 14
S R Waugh not out 45
A J Bichel c Smith b Dillon 0
B Lee c sub b Dillon 18
J N Gillespie c Lara b Drakes 5
S C G MacGill c Lara b Dillon 0
G D McGrath c Ganga b Drakes 14
Extras (b4 lb9 nb12) 25
Total (104 overs) 417

Fall: 1-242 2-273 3-285 4-330 5-338 6-343 7-373 8-385 9-388.

Bowling: Lawson 6-1-17-0; Dillon 29-3-112-4; Banks 37-5-153-2; Drakes 19-1-92-2; Gayle 13-1-30-1.

West Indies – Second innings
C H Gayle not out 19
D S Smith not out 21
Extras (b1 lb4 nb2) 7
Total (for 0, 22.1 overs) 47

Bowling (to date): McGrath 5-3-2-0; Gillespie 5-3-6-0; Lee 6.1-1-15-0 (nb2); MacGill 5-2-15-0; Bichel 1-0-4-0.

Umpires: D R Shepherd and S Venkataraghavan.