Black and Dillon splash out but tourists sink again

Pacemen Marlon Black and Mervyn Dillon fought a brave battle against the inevitable but Australia has nonetheless finished day two of the First Test against West Indies in a commanding position here at the 'Gabba in Brisbane. By stumps, the home team holds an overall advantage of 225 runs; the tourists at 2/25 in their second innings and fighting a losing battle to stay alive in the match.

In their humiliating effort yesterday, the West Indians had shown precious little resolve. Today, they displayed considerably more. But the world's best team still showed that it remained a world apart from its current challenger. It was somehow a statement of the depths to which the tourists had sunk that, initially at least, it took a man playing in his very first Test to show his teammates how things were done.

The sense of aimlessness by which his team had been gripped in plunging to a total of 82 yesterday seemed, paradoxically, to inspire Black (4/83). He ran in with purpose, he ran in with aggression, he ran in with the look of a man completely unwilling to yield any more of the ground that had so decisively been conceded to the Australians. At first, this manifested itself in a beautiful seven over spell from the Stanley Street End that quickly had overnight batsmen Michael Slater (54) and Andy Bichel (8), as well as Justin Langer (3) for good measure, shuffling away from the arena.

It was the very first Black delivery of the morning, in fact, which simultaneously spurred the downfall of Slater and brought the tall Trinidadian fast bowler his first Test wicket. The right handed opener reached for a full wide outswinger of lively pace but could do no better than direct it to Sherwin Campbell at second slip. Later in the same over, nightwatchman Bichel departed after playing away from his body (at a ball that cut marginally away) to be caught behind. The gritty Langer saw out slightly more of the opening session but made similarly little impact on the scoreboard. Three Black overs later, he was defeated by a lovely inswinger, inside edging the ball within a coat of vanish of his off stump and presenting Ridlley Jacobs with the chance of another catch as he moved across neatly to his right.

Around a fourth dismissal for Black - the departure of Ricky Ponting (20) to a nicely pitched outswinger - Dillon (3/79) then added his weight to the cause by snaring three prize wickets of his own. He was responsible for removing Mark Waugh (24) at the end of an always-scratchy innings and then complemented that success with the scalp of Steve Waugh (41) in his next over. The former went to a low caught and bowled after he was deceived by a delivery that appeared to hold up on him slightly and caused him to meekly push the ball back down the pitch. The latter succumbed to a wonderful catch from Campbell, at head height, at second slip after issuing a flashing cut shot at a wider, shorter offering.

It was not until Adam Gilchrist (48), the highest averaging left hander in Tests at present, came to the crease in the unfamiliar territory of number eight that a batsman finally looked completely at ease. In a whirlwind partnership of sixty-one runs for the eighth wicket with an equally aggressively inclined Brett Lee (62*), he took toll of a tiring attack with relish. It was from there that Lee's production of a maiden half-century in first-class cricket - and the highest individual score of the match no less - served to underline the West Indians' apparent inability to match it with the Australians for sustained periods. Tailender Stuart MacGill (19) also joined in the late assault, albeit in ungainly style, helping to swell the eventual first innings lead to the small matter of 250 runs.

From there, what already shapes as something akin to an inevitability in this series - the sight of West Indian batsmen departing with regularity - returned to haunt the tourists once more. To begin the spectre all over again, Campbell failed to defend a delivery from Glenn McGrath (2/7) which did little more than hold its line outside off stump. After one ferocious pull at his nemesis, Brian Lara (4) then succumbed almost as tamely as in the first innings. He beat that well worn path off the 'Gabba when he impetuously attempted the stroke again and top edged. Gilchrist took a simple catch and, in doing so, took the Australians another large step toward a record-equalling eleventh Test victory in succession too. Barring a monumental reversal, this result will come quicker than most.