Cricket: Windies destiny rests in Lara's hands

Australia 490 & 146 West Indies 329 & 85-3

AUSTRALIA AND the West Indies are locked in a tense, monumental struggle with one day remaining in the critical third Test at Kensington Oval. The West Indies continued their determined fightback yesterday to earn themselves a real, if outside, chance of converting an utterly hopeless situation an hour into the third day into unlikely victory.

Their destiny, once more, is largely in the hands of their captain, Brian Lara, who resumes this morning after surviving an anxious final 20 minutes of the day. His team are 223 runs away from their goal of 308 on a still- blameless pitch.

After their last four wickets had ensured they avoided the follow-on and reduced their first-innings deficit to 161 on Sunday, their bowlers, led by the indomitable Courtney Walsh's five wickets, dismissed Australia for 146 by tea yesterday. It left their batsmen the job of securing a famous result that would put them ahead 2-1 with one Test remaining.

In the 47 overs of the final session, they lost Sherwin Campbell lbw to Glenn McGrath for 33 after an encouraging opening stand of 72 with Adrian Griffith, Dave Joseph and the nightwatchman Pedro Collins. Griffith kept his head and his wicket through the tension with an unbeaten 35.

History, if not local sentiment, favours Australia. The West Indies have totalled as many to win only three times in their previous 350 Tests. Yet since Lara's 213 that was the catalyst of their stunning triumph in the second Test in Kingston, they have been a determined and united team.

Walsh and Ambrose had already dispatched two wickets for 18 when play began and it took some bold, clean hitting by Shane Warne, with 32 off 48 balls at No 8, to prevent a complete Australian rout.

The West Indians were initially energised by Campbell's dazzling run out of the dangerous Michael Slater after 35 minutes. The fleet-footed opener was inches short of his ground when Campbell's fast, flat throw from 60 yards broke the stumps. Ambrose then uprooted nightwatchman Jason Gillespie's off-stump and Walsh won a clear-cut verdict on his second lbw appeal in the over against Mark Waugh, falling across his crease and out for three.

Steve Waugh's presence was a worrying obstacle for the West Indies but, after scoring 11, he failed to spot the left-armer Pedro Collins' fast inswing and, cutting, chopped the ball back into his stumps.

When Collins dismissed Ian Healy with the fourth ball after lunch, Australia's lead was an inadequate 242 runs. But Warne's no-nonsense approach quickly loosened the West Indian strangehold.

Fourth day; Australia won toss

AUSTRALIA - First innings 490 (S R Waugh 199, R T Ponting 104).

WEST INDIES - First Innings 329 (S L Campbell 105, R D Jacobs 68; G D McGrath 4-128).

AUSTRALIA - Second Innings

M T G Elliott c Jacobs b Walsh 0

M J Slater run out (Campbell) 26

J L Langer lbw b Ambrose 1

J N Gillespie b Ambrose 14

M E Waugh lbw b Walsh 3

*S R Waugh b Collins 11

R T Ponting c Griffith b Walsh 22

I A Healy c Jacobs b Collins 3

S K Warne lbw b Walsh 32

S C G MacGill c Campbell b Walsh 1

G D McGrath not out 8

Extras (lb5 w1 nb19) 25

Total (50.1 overs) 146

Fall: 0-1, 2-12, 3-35, 4-46, 5-48, 6-73, 7-81, 8-134, 9-137.

Bowling: Walsh 17.1-3-39-5; Ambrose 20-2-60-2; Collins 9-0-31-2; Perry 4-0-11-0.

WEST INDIES - Second Innings

S L Campbell lbw b McGrath 33

A F G Griffith not out 35

D R E Joseph lbw b MacGill 1

P T Collins lbw b McGrath 0

*B C Lara not out 2

Extras (8b, 4lb, 2nb) 14

Total (for 3, 47 overs) 85

Fall: 1-72, 2-77, 3-78.

Bowling: McGrath 17-7-24-2; Gillespie 11-2-26-0; Warne 10-4-15-0; MacGill 9-5-8-1.

Umpires: E Nichols and D Orchard.

England news, page 19