
AUSTRALIA is poised to claim an astonishing victory in the First Test against the West Indies after its bowlers turned the Kensington Oval contest on its head with bat and ball.
At stumps on the fourth day, the West Indies, seemingly in total control when they had reduced Australia to 8-285 early in the first session, were battling to stave off defeat at 5-71, an overall lead of 114 with one day's play remaining.
Captain Michael Clarke had insisted after the third day's play that Australia, 5-248 in reply to the West Indies' 9-449 (dec), could still press on to victory if its remaining batsmen could mount a rearguard action and so it proved, although not in the manner he surely would have expected.
It was not the two overnight batting from Michael Hussey and Test debutant Matthew Wade or veritable allrounder Peter Siddle who mounted the rescue mission. They were all gone after little more than an hour, collectively contributing only 10 more runs to the cause.

