Australia vs. West Indies, 1st Test, Day 2: Bravo to Adam Voges in Tasmania
There was an inevitable feel about how Day 2 of the first Test between Australia and West Indies unfolded.
Hosts Australia inevitably piled on the runs before declaring their first innings at 583 for four. Adam Voges finished up unbeaten on 269, the highest Test score ever made at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Tasmania.
He had put on a record stand of 449 for the fourth wicket with Shaun Marsh, who was eventually dismissed for 182.
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In reply, West Indies' batsmen inevitably struggled. The tourists slipped to 116 for six, with Australia spinner Nathan Lyon taking three wickets.
Darren Bravo's unbeaten 94 held up the home team, while Kemar Roach weighed in with 31 not out in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 91 before the close of play.
However, West Indies face the prospect of being asked to follow-on. The result of the match already feels, well, inevitable.
Bleacher Report has picked out some of the major talking points from Day 2.
Records Tumble
It was a day for the statisticians on Friday, as Voges and Marsh set about the record books in the same voracious manner they feasted on West Indies' bowling.
Twitter was awash with numbers, and some of the best can be seen below:
Adam Burnett of Cricket Australia also published a list of milestones the pair achieved during an alliance that saw West Indies go through almost the equivalent of a full day's play without taking a wicket.
Marsh's maiden Test century on home soil came at a crucial time in his career. The left-hander was only called back into the side due to Usman Khawaja's injury.
The game in Tasmania could have been his last chance for a while, possibly ever. Now he's just given the national selectors the type of headache they relish—squeezing too many players into too few places.
It was stunning stuff, but the opposition gave both Marsh and Voges a helping hand.
West Indies' bowling was of the buffet variety—it was just a matter of helping yourself to what was on offer.
In his end-of-play report for ESPN Cricinfo, Brydon Coverdale didn't hold back in his criticism:
"Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder—they have all delivered at Test level before.
Here they went through the motions. And to paraphrase Dorothy Parker on Katharine Hepburn, it was the gamut of motions from A to B. Amble in with little intent, bowl with no apparent plan, walk back to the mark, repeat.
Too many half-volleys, too many on the pads, too many boundary balls. Too many fielders back, too many easy singles. Too many runs, too few efforts to stop them.
"
Shannon Gabriel was the only seamer to take a wicket in the entire innings. He wasn't even able to bowl on Day 2, due to an ankle injury that might end his tour early, per Daniel Brettig of ESPN Cricinfo.
West Indies might have to summon a replacement from the Caribbean. Or, better yet, from their magnificent past. How they could do with a peak Joel Garner, or Michael Holding, or for that matter any of their legendary pacemen, right now.
Declaration of Intent
Perhaps thinking Voges was full from the morning buffet he had feasted on out in the middle, Australia captain Steve Smith declared at the lunch break.
The timing of the decision was about the only talking point in the first session.
However, the home side's run-rate meant there was no need to rush. Voges' innings was cut short by his skipper, not the opposition, when a Test triple hundred was there for the taking.
Statistician Mazher Arshad pointed out Australia captains have a history of declaring with players approaching 300:
Understandably, Smith can point to it being a team game. Individual milestones are wonderful to reflect on when a career is over, but it's all about wins and losses.
Voges will no doubt say the same. But Australia didn't need to hurry the match along. Weather permitting, they are on course to clinch victory inside four days.
If that scenario plays out, Smith may reflect on a missed opportunity to allow a team-mate to reach a landmark score that few manage in their Test careers.
Bravo's Brilliance
West Indies' lack of fight with the ball carried over into their batting. At one stage, they slipped from 58 for one to 89 for five.
It wasn't Australia's seamers who did the damage, however, but off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
His flight tempted batsmen into making mistakes, while he produced a fine catch off his own bowling to dismiss Marlon Samuels for nine.
When West Indies captain Jason Holder became the sixth wicket to fall, tapped leg before wicket for 15 by Peter Siddle, there was the very real possibility of the tourists being bowled out before stumps.
Bravo, though, was the one shining light in the deepening gloom. Not even short delays for rain broke his concentration.
There was, though, one reprieve during his excellent knock.
On 74, he edged seamer Josh Hazlewood in between first and second slip, with Voges unable to cling on after reacting late to the opportunity.
He will return to the crease on Day 3 just six runs short of a seventh Test century. A personal moment of glory may be the best West Indies can hope to take from the series opener.
What Will Happen in This Test?
West Indies need help from above, from either weather or a moment of divine intervention, to help them survive the match unscathed.
Australia, meanwhile, must figure out if they want to enforce the follow-on. They still have a monumental lead of 376, and there seems little need to pile on more runs.
If his bowlers can wrap up the first innings before lunch on Saturday, Smith should ask the visitors to have another go with the bat. If that happens, don't rule out the possibility of a result on Day 3.
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