Century by Steve Waugh

By Malcolm Conn

SYDNEY, JAN. 4. Just when it appeared the West Indies was at least going to create its own unique piece of history, Glenn McGrath landed a sucker blow which revitalised Australia's remorseless quest for a 5-0 clean sweep and 15 successive victories.

With the last ball of the third day, McGrath bowled the combative Wavell Hinds (46) as he shouldered arms, leaving the visitors at 98-1 and still needing a further 82 runs to make Australia bat a second time.

It has reignited the Australians and left this record- breaking side believing it can now roll the tourists over quickly a second time. During the first innings the West Indies lost all its wickets for 125 after an opening stand of 147.

``We needed it but it will certainly help our momentum,'' vice- captain Adam Gilchrist said after a typically swash-bucking 87 combined with Steve Waugh's typically gritty century to help set Australia up for a first innings score of 452 and a 180-run lead. ``We'll remember what happened in the first innings. As soon as we got one wicket we managed to really get a roll on. We'll start fresh with it in the back of our mind and it will be in the back of their mind.''

Hinds and Sherwin Campbell (45 not out) were on the verge of becoming the first West Indian pair to have century opening stands in both innings of a Test, something that not even the formidable Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes combination to manage in all their time together.

The West Indies will be heartened that the demons in this Sydney pitch appear to have been exorcised but given its miserable batting throughout the tour against the relentless Australians, it is almost impossible to believe that the home side won't in some way conspire to claim this game as well.

At least Steve Waugh, who continues to rise further into batting's lofty heights, can now more easily defend the substance of Australia's collective slaughter this summer.

With Campbell and Hinds following their fine Tuesday partnership with another two hours and twenty minutes of batting on Thursday, the Australians have more work than expected ahead of them on Friday on a pitch which is increasingly refusing to play tricks.

For the most part it is playing lower and slower and did not offer the expected assistance to the spin of Colin Miller and Stuart MacGill as they toiled away with hardly a ball spitting as they had hoped.

Steve Waugh assessed his spinners would play such a big part that he opened the bowling with Miller but Gilchrist, with his perfect view from behind the stumps, agreed that the surface did not behave as expected.

``It was a bit different. The second half of day one and into day two you would have thought it would have really been playing tricks by now and have continued to go down hill,'' Gilchrist said. ``If anything it's hitting and dying a little bit.''

Steve Waugh made a second successive century, 103 in five hours, before he was unluckily bowled padding away the modest leg-spin of Mahendra Nagamootoo and somehow kicked the ball into his stumps. Waugh now has 24 hundreds. Only Sunil Gavaskar (34), Don Bradman (29), Allan Border (27) and Garfield Sobers (26) have made more.

The West Indies' series was summed up on Thursday morning with Adam Gilchrist's first ball. He sliced it head high through the hands of Jimmy Adams at gully. The Australian wicket- keeper then raced away with the match in another lower order ritual slaughter.

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