Cricket: Bishop comes to W Indies' aid

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 and 308

West Indies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371 and 133-8

Match drawn

A MOOD alternating between hope and despair turned to relief for the West Indies as they held out for a draw in the first Test against Australia yesterday. In a tense conclusion, the Australian captain, Allan Border, and Merv Hughes, were involved in heated exchanges with the umpire, Steve Randell, and were subsequently reported to the match referee under the International Cricket Council's code of conduct.

The West Indies' ninth-wicket pair, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, held on for the final 20 minutes with every fielder plastered around the bat to deny Australia a win that seemed theirs after they had reduced the West Indies to the unprecedented depths of 9 for 4 immediately after lunch.

Requiring 231 from 65 overs on a pitch still in good order after dismissing Australia for 308 half an hour before lunch, West Indian expectations were undermined by the irresistible pace and control of Craig McDermott, aided by the left-arm swing of Bruce Reid, then revived by the captain, Ritchie Richardson, and Carl Hooper before finally ebbing away after tea.

McDermott, casting aside indifferent first-innings form, removed Desmond Haynes with his fifth ball and Brian Lara and the first innings century-maker, Keith Arthurton, for ducks on either side of lunch. Reid claimed Haynes's partner, Phil Simmons, with his fourth ball.

Even in such a crisis the West Indies did not abandon their plans for victory. Richardson's second scoring stroke was a hooked six off Reid followed by three full- blooded drives for boundaries in his next over. He raced to 50 off 95 balls adding 86 in just over two hours with Hooper to raise the prospect of a remarkable win.

By tea the target had been reduced to 138 off 31 overs before Hooper departed to the fourth ball of the final session, soon followed by David Williams. Hooper batted with utter assurance for more than two hours but seemed to completely lose the plot during the tea break and, after he was nearly stumped in Greg Matthews' first over, carelessly hit a short off-break from the same bowler to straight midwicket. Williams was lbw padding up to a ball from McDermott and it was left to Richardson and his fast bowlers to hold on.

Using his long reach, straight bat and common sense in equal measure, Bishop remained unbowed to the end, defying the increasingly frustrated Australians for an hour and three quarters and even outlasting his captain, with whom he batted for 21 overs.

Richardson survived a succession of lbw appeals, some more authentic than others, as the tension mounted. Randell and his fellow umpire, Terry Prue, twice consulted as Hughes and Border, reacted verbally to their inaction. The incidents were referred to match referee, Raman Subba Row. Subba Row will announce his decision - either a fine of suspension - tomorrow.

It was ironic that when Richardson was given out, caught down the leg side off Hughes for 66 with six overs remaining, he indicated the ball had brushed his pad not his bat. After just under four hours and 181 balls in a true captain's role, he returned to the pavilion to watch 25 anxious minutes as the drama reached its climax.

Curtly Ambrose was caught round the corner off Reid with 3.1 overs remaining, but Walsh survived seven deliveries and the last of the Australian lbw appeals before Bishop calmly played out the last over from Hughes.

The prospects for just such a finish were evident from the start of the day - but only 2,620 turned out to watch. 'They'll probably say it was just another draw,' Border commented glibly afterwards. It certainly was not.

(Australia won toss)

AUSTRALIA - First innings 293 (* A R Border 73; C L Hooper 4-75).

WEST INDIES - First innings 371 (K L T Arthurton 157no, B C Lara 58; B A Reid 5-112).

AUSTRALIA - Second innings

(overnight 266 for 6)

* A R Border c Williams b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

I A Healy c Williams b Bishop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

M G Hughes c Williams b Ambrose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

C J McDermott not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

B A Reid c Richardson b Hooper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Extras (b4 lb2 nb9). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Fall (cont): 7-280 8-287 9-295

Bowling: Ambrose 32-8-66-5; Bishop 27-6-58-2; Hooper 28.2-8-63-1; Walsh 24-3-64-2; Patterson 7-0-44-0; Arthurton 1-0-2-0; Simmons 1-0-5-0.

WEST INDIES - Second innings

D L Haynes c Healy b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

P V Simmons c Healy b Reid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

* R B Richardson c Healy b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

B C Lara c Taylor b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

K L Arthurton b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

C L Hooper c Boon b Matthews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

D Williams lbw b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

I R Bishop not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

C E L Ambrose c Hughes b Reid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

C A Walsh not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Extras (lb7 nb6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Total (for 8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Fall: 1-2 2-2 3-3 4-9 5-95 6-96 7-123 8-128.

Bowling: McDermott 18-7-35-4; Reid 16-7-39-2; Hughes 13-4-28-1; Matthews 13-4-18-1; S Waugh 5-1-6-0.

Umpires: T Prue and S Randell.

Man of the match: D C Boon.

MATCH DRAWN

AUSTRALIAN SQUAD (for one-day tournament): * A R Border, M A Taylor, D C Boon, I A Healy, D M Jones, C J McDermott, G R J Matthews, T B A May, P R Reiffel, M E Waugh, S R Waugh, M R Whitney.