West Indies v Australia, 1st Test, Bridgetown, Day5,Cricinfo

Clarke finds inspiration from Adelaide '06 heist

Michael Clarke's belief that the Bridgetown Test match could be won was forged six years ago in the middle of Adelaidle Ova. He had been joined at the wicket by Shane Warne, Australia struggling for first innings parity with England on the fourth day of what seemed destined to be a drawn Ashes Test. Simply and clearly, Warne told Clarke the match would be won. On a scarcely believable final day, it was.

Clarke carried that memory with him throughout the first Test against the West Indies, and echoed Warne in assuring his team that the Barbados match remained within their grasp. After a mighty struggle over the final two days, the visitors dragged themselves up from a position every bit as dire as the one occupied by Australia against England in 2006, and another remarkable victory was secured. It made Clarke only the second captain in the history of Test cricket to win a match after declaring behind.

"I remember Warney telling me back then that with a day and a half left in the Test match that we would win the game and I was trying to work out how," Clarke said of 2006. "At best surely we'd get a draw but he had no doubt in his mind. For me as a young player I thought 'right-o, that's my attitude, I'm going to win'. A few years on and I'm in the change rooms telling the boys we're going to win this Test match. Hopefully a few of them believed me the way I believed Warney back then.

"It shows, if you have that self-belief and belief in the inner sanctum and the guys that sit beside you that you find ways. That was the main thing I said to the boys today. I know it's tough, I know we're tired, I know there's going to be issues of the foot marks, I know it's going to be a tough run chase but find a way. Everyone and individually as a team we've got to find a way and we'll win this Test match. Credit to the boys, they certainly found a way."

Australia are building a team to be reckoned with under Clarke, and he had little hesitation declaring the Bridgetown result the equal of any he had enjoyed. It was as much a victory over the conditions and late season lethargy as the opposition, a West Indies team that is gathering discipline, skill and experience but is still learning how to fight out the critical phases of a Test.

"A just reward for hanging in, the team showing true character and fight and not giving up," Clarke said. "I think whatever happened this afternoon, whether we won the game, drew the game or lost the game, I think we certainly showed a lot of fight, a lot of character. We tried to win the Test.

"We did everything we could to try and win the Test match and it's very, very rewarding now sitting in the change rooms with that bunch of boys that we got the result we were after…after a lot of hard work, a couple of days with, I guess, our backs to the wall. But to be able to fight and get a result like that, that's as special a win as I've had in my career.

"This is as good as I've had, no doubt, because we had our backs to the wall for the first three days of the game. And the spirit and the character, I guess of the guys in the change room is what drives you, I guess, as a captain to make a bold decision, to declare when I declared. The confidence around me from everybody in that group, there wasn't one bit of fear of losing that Test match, it wasn't spoken about.

"From day one of the Test all that's been spoken about is what we have to do to win this Test match. And a lot of time it's easier said than done, especially when a team gets 450 on the board in the first two days, you get some time taken out of the game with the light, so full credit to every single player and support staff person in that change room."

The Australian team is beginning to bear the stamp of Clarke - relentlessly positive, adventurous, tactically agile and skillful. He said the team was learning more about how to best operate under pressure, meaning the lapses that occurred in Cape Town against South Africa and Hobart against New Zealand are now growing less likely to occur. It is also benefiting from the balance between the brash youth of David Warner, and the poise of older heads like Michael Hussey, so calm in the chase as he had been in Adelaide six years ago.

"I think we are just learning more and more about each other every day, especially under pressure," Clarke said. "We're working out what guys require to perform their best under pressure. We're seeing guys stand up when they get an opportunity to play Test cricket. We're seeing some old hands and some old legs still pulling tricks out of the bag to help us win games and Huss is a great example of that.

"We're putting in really good team performances. You're not going to be successful individually every single time you walk out to bat or walk out to bowl. But I think the team we have at the moment, the players we have around the group at the moment aren't bothered about themselves. They care most about the team winning and doing whatever they can to contribute to success. In my mind, there's no coincidence the team's doing well because we're all putting the team first."

West Indies v Australia, 1st Test, Bridgetown, Day4,Cricinfo

West Indies 449 for 9 dec and 71 for 5 (Hilfenhaus 3-17) lead Australia 406 for 9 dec (Clarke 73, Harris 68*, Roach 3-72) by 114 runs

How quickly this game can change. West Indies started the fourth day searching for a way to turn their dominance into a victory. They ended it hoping to avoid defeat. In between, Ryan Harris led an outstanding tail-end fightback from Australia that allowed Michael Clarke to make a bold declaration from behind, a decision that was justified when Ben Hilfenhaus scythed through the top three West Indies batsmen in the first five overs of their second innings.

As tea approached, it was hard to tell who was wobblier, the West Indies batsmen or the rummies in Kensington Oval's Party Stand. At least the spectators had an excuse for their lack of stability. Clarke's declaration gave West Indies half an hour to bat before the break and when it arrived they were 4 for 3. Australia's last three pairs had just added 156 runs between them. It was about as disastrous a period as West Indies could have endured.

In a few crazy hours, all the hard work the hosts had done over the first three days evaporated. By stumps, they had steadied a little, but only a little, and they finished the day at 71 for 5, with Narsingh Deonarine on 20 and Carlton Baugh on 2. It meant West Indies held a slim lead of 114 runs and with only five wickets in hand, they still needed a solid batting performance on the fifth morning to prevent the Australians chasing a small target.

The pitch had started to show some variable bounce but after the way their tail-enders batted, Australia would fancy their chances of chasing a target of around 200. For West Indies, much rested on the shoulders of Deonarine, a man with a point to prove after he was told by the coach Ottis Gibson he was on probation having been recalled to the side for the first time in nearly two years.

Smart stats Ryan Harris' 68 is the highest score by an Australian No.9 batsman against West Indies and the third-highest at the position for Australia since 1990 after Mitchell Johnson's 96 and Damien Fleming's 71. Nathan Lyon's 40 is sixth on the list of top scores by Australian No.11 batsmen. There have been only three half-centuries scored by Australian No.11 batsmen with Glenn McGrath's 61 the highest. The 77-run stand between Harris and Lyon is the second-highest tenth-wicket stand for Australia against West Indies. The highest is the 97-run stand between Rodney Hogg and Tom Hogan in Guyana in 1984. The partnership aggregate for the last two wickets (121) is the fourth-highest for Australia in Tests against West Indies and their highest in West Indies. West Indies lost their first three wickets for just four runs. The score at the fall of the third wicket (4) is the second-lowest for West Indies against Australia. The previous lowest (3) came in Brisbane in 1992. Australia declared their first innings with a deficit of 43 runs. It is only the second time since their 169-run loss in Perth in 1988 that Australia have declared behind West Indies.

Deonarine had helped West Indies recover with a 50-run stand that ended shortly before stumps when Darren Bravo (32) edged behind off Peter Siddle. It was just the breakthrough the Australians wanted after Hilfenhaus ripped through the top order and Harris nicked out Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had clung on like a barnacle in the first innings but managed only 12 in the second.

West Indies were 17 for 4 when Chanderpaul was done by a good ball that moved away fractionally off the seam. Hilfenhaus had also found just enough movement to trouble Adrian Barath, who was the first to fall when he was bowled by a ball that shaped to swing away and then straightened back between bat and pad.

Two balls later, Kraigg Brathwaite feathered behind playing an uncharacteristically aggressive stroke and his edge was so thin that the umpire Ian Gould did not appear likely to give him out, but the batsman walked. In his next over, Hilfenhaus trapped Kirk Edwards lbw and a review of Gould's decision could not save the batsman, and Clarke's decision to declare 43 runs in arrears was looking inspired.

The Australian lower order had provided major frustrations for West Indies, especially Harris, who finished unbeaten on 68, and the No.11 Nathan Lyon, who remained not out on 40. They had put on 77 for the final wicket and could have batted on further, but Clarke wasn't convinced a draw was the best outcome Australia could manage.

Australia added 40 runs after lunch and the innings was nearly brought to an end with the score at 391 when Harris was given out lbw to Fidel Edwards for 66. But with a review up his sleeve, Harris asked for the third umpire to check Gould's on-field decision and the replay showed the ball would have sailed over the top of the stumps.

There were precious few other opportunities for West Indies as their heads bowed and shoulders slumped during the final partnership, the second-highest tenth-wicket stand ever by an Australian pair against West Indies. Things had started perfectly for West Indies as they took the new ball in the first over of the day and quickly had Michael Hussey back in the dressing room having added only one to his overnight score.

Hussey pushed forward at a Kemar Roach delivery that angled across him and his edge was well taken by Carlton Baugh low to his left. Siddle followed for 0 when he ducked a shortish delivery from Fidel Edwards and gloved a catch to gully, and Australia were 250 for 7. Matthew Wade and Harris added 35 for the eighth wicket and both men played some promising shots but Wade's patience eventually deserted him and he drove expansively at Edwards and edged to slip for 28 from 97 deliveries.

Hilfenhaus provided some entertainment with five boundaries in his 24, an innings that ended when he tried to whack Roach over midwicket and lost his middle stump. But it wasn't the end for the Australian lower order as Harris and Lyon's partnership reached 37 at lunch, both men having played some impressive strokes and they were particularly good at driving when the bowlers overpitched.

Harris struck seven boundaries and brought up his half-century from his 76th ball with a clip through midwicket, and his determination was evident in his celebration as he gritted his teeth and settled in for some more batting. Lyon also played some strong drives and brought up his highest first-class score.

Clarke denied him the chance of scoring a half-century, but it was the furthest thing from the captain's mind as he sought a way to win the match. By stumps, victory had become a much more realistic proposition.

West Indies v Australia, 1st Test, Bridgetown, Day3,Cricinfo

Australia 248 for 5 (Clarke 73, Hussey 47*) trail West Indies 449 for 9 dec by 201 runs

West Indies remained firmly on top after three days of attritional cricket in Barbados, where Darren Sammy's early strikes and Devendra Bishoo's variations kept Australia's batsmen from making significant progress. At stumps on day three Australia were 248 for 5, with Michael Hussey on 47 and Matthew Wade on 19, and while they had almost passed the follow-on mark they were not yet safe in the match.

The big challenge for West Indies remained finding a way to turn their impressive performance into a victory. Rain again played a part on the third afternoon and their task for the final two days was to run through Australia's lower order quickly, bat again and set the visitors a target, and then skittle them a second time. The way this match has unfolded so far, that looked like it would be easier said than done.

But through Sammy and his colleagues West Indies had at least put themselves in the much stronger position. Last time the two sides met in a Caribbean Test series, the hosts had several days of inspired cricket but were unable to string together enough in one match to take a victory from Australia. This time they had started with two encouraging days, and worked through the third in the same fashion.

Michael Clarke provided Australia with a fighting half-century but threw his wicket away, while Shane Watson and David Warner also failed to capitalise on solid starts. Watson was also accountable for the ugly run-out of Ricky Ponting, a calamitous confusion that left Ponting fuming as he walked off the field.

The pair had come together after Sammy removed both openers in almost identical fashion, pitching the ball on off stump and nipping it away from the left-handers Warner and Ed Cowan. Cowan was on 14 when his thin edge found the wicketkeeper and Warner had made a promising start and had 42 when he edged to second slip, and Sammy's accuracy and persistence was impressive.

Those strikes were followed by the run-out of Ponting for 4 when Watson turned the ball behind square leg and took a single, and then called for the second, hesitated, and called Ponting through again. The throw from the deep to the wicketkeeper's end found a confused Ponting out of his ground as Watson loitered halfway down the pitch and Ponting's frustration was evident.

Watson was nearly involved in another run-out later when Clarke was saved only by a wayward throw. That, together with poor use of the review system, were the only real blemishes that could be attached to the West Indies fielding effort. Twice Watson survived lbw appeals that could easily have gone against him, once when he offered no shot to a prodigious inswinger from Sammy, who asked for a review and saw the replays show a perilously close prediction that had the ball hitting off stump, but only in the "umpire's call" zone.

In the next over, Kemar Roach appealed for lbw against Watson and also received a not-out verdict. This time Sammy decided against asking for a review but replays showed the ball would have struck enough of leg stump to have the decision overturned. West Indies wasted their second review after lunch when Sammy was off the ground and the vice-captain Kirk Edwards asked for the third umpire to check another Roach lbw appeal that was clearly sliding down leg.

But those errors of judgment didn't prove too costly. Watson threw his wicket away in the first over after lunch when he flashed impetuously at Roach and was caught behind for 39. It was hardly the innings Australia needed from Watson in his first Test batting at No.3. Clarke and Michael Hussey led a fightback with an 82-run partnership and they had to work hard against Bishoo, whose variations kept them from scoring freely.

Clarke used his feet against the legspinner and lofted him straight down the ground for six, but otherwise the Australians typically waited for poor balls from Bishoo and did the best they could to keep the good ones out. Clarke brought up his half-century from his 121st delivery with a fine cover-driven boundary from the part-time offspin of Narsingh Deonarine, and he was fortunate to have got there after a contentious review when he was on 27.

Clarke was adjudged caught behind off a Bishoo ball that stayed low and he immediately challenged the out decision from the umpire Tony Hill. Replays did not clearly show that he hit the ball but nor did there seem to be overwhelming evidence to overturn the call, but that was what happened and it was a serious let-off for Clarke.

Eventually, Bishoo had his reward when Clarke tried to clear long-off but succeeded only in skying a catch, and it was an unwise shot selection at a time when Clarke and Hussey needed to continue building their partnership. Hussey was more watchful and by stumps was approaching a half-century, and Wade struggled against Bishoo with a packed close-in field, but he was good enough to put away the bad balls when they came.

Bishoo's challenge on the fourth day will be to run through the tail, although with the new ball due Sammy will first turn to his fast men to do that job. And if they can manage it, victory will be a possibility, although a draw remains the more likely outcome.