Australia slowly advanced to a seemingly unbeatable position against West Indies at tea on the third day of the second Test in Jamaica on Saturday.
Australia slowly advanced to a seemingly unbeatable position against West Indies at tea on the third day of the second Test in Jamaica on Saturday.
The visitors were 137 for one wicket in their second innings in Kingston, an overall lead of 316 runs.
Left-hander David Warner was the only batsman dismissed in the second session, caught behind off the bowling of Kemar Roach for 62.
Shaun Marsh (59) and Steve Smith (8) were not out and the only real suspense was whether captain Michael Clarke would declare before stumps, or get his team to bat until the end of play.
Earlier in the day, tailender Jason Holder was left stranded on 82 not out as West Indies were dismissed for 220 in their first innings, a deficit of 179.
Holder swatted the four Australian specialist bowlers to all corners of Sabina Park with an aggressive display of lusty hitting more reminiscent of a limited overs game than a test.
His unbeaten score, off only 63 balls, included 12 fours and two sixes and allowed West Indies to avoid the follow on.
Despite coming in at number nine, Holder is no slouch with the bat. Less than two months ago, he scored a century against England in Antigua.
His unconquered knock on Saturday improved his batting average to 37.9 in 13 test innings.
He even displayed the skill to hit a reverse sweep for four off off-spinner Nathan Lyon, but he ran out of partners after West Indies resumed at 143 for eight wickets.
Tailender Kemar Roach (7) hung around for 36 balls before edging a Josh Hazlewood delivery to keeper Brad Haddin.
His dismissal ended a rapid 77-run partnership.
The end of the innings came two balls later when Hazlewood trapped Jerome Taylor lbw for 0 as the batsman padded up.
Right-arm fast bowler Hazlewood was the pick of the Australian attack with 5-38, while Lyon finished with 3-55.
Australia, who won the first test by nine wickets, are seeking to sweep the two-test series ahead of the Ashes against England, with the first test in Cardiff less than a month away. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Martyn Herman and Toby Davis)
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