Dinner West Indies 311 and 106 for 3 (Athanaze 28*, Hodge 8, Lyon 1-8) lead Australia 289 for 9 dec by 128 runs
After a madcap day two, the match returned to normalcy because the floor settled and West Indies eyed batting for the lengthy haul in highly regarded and humid climate.
West Indies, nonetheless, have dug in and performed largely with self-discipline to construct a platform for a robust lead as they eye ending a two-decade Check drought in opposition to Australia.
It was Smith’s second dropped catch of the innings after he shelled Brathwaite late on day two.
There’s the specter of rain tonight and heavy showers are forecast on days 4 and 5 because of the aftereffects of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.
Resuming at 13 for 1 of their second innings, West Indies wanted to outlive the brand new ball onslaught and get to the 25-over mark comparatively unscathed when batting has confirmed simpler.
However the floor didn’t provide as a lot zip in comparison with late on day two when Australia declared 22 runs behind and fast Josh Hazlewood picked up opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul in what capped a frenetic day’s play.
McKenzie motored together with a stunning drive by way of the covers off fast Mitchell Starc’s first over in an indication of issues to return. He repeated the dose to knock Hazlewood off his miserly line as he scored at a run-a-ball tempo.
The left-handed McKenzie’s straight driving was much more pleasing on the attention as he single-handedly stored the scoreboard ticking. In a distinction, Brathwaite was anchored to the crease and scored simply six runs off his first 33 balls before whacking Starc uppishly by way of covers for his first boundary of the innings.
With Hazlewood and Starc thwarted, skipper Pat Cummins entered the assault within the fifteenth over and hoped to supply a trademark game-changing wicket. However McKenzie instantly drove him with ease down the bottom for one other good boundary forcing Cummins to revert to a tough size as a riveting battle ensued.
The batters defied Cummins and notched a half-century stand as West Indies moved right into a place of energy. They nearly bought by way of to drinks unscathed before Brathwaite tamely chipped Inexperienced to cowl.
McKenzie slowed down and on his fiftieth supply he missed an tried sweep shot to be trapped lbw on Lyon’s second supply. Within the nick of time, McKenzie determined to evaluation having been hit excessive on his again leg however ball monitoring confirmed it to be clipping the off bail and the choice was upheld.
Athanaze has had restricted influence within the sequence, however confirmed glimpses of why he’s highly-rated with a number of engaging strokes and he’ll look to money in on his luck after the break.
