Australia has won the Boxing Day Test, gone to a 2-0 lead in their three-match series against the West Indies, and will retain the Frank Worrell trophy after the visitors were bowled out still 178 runs short of a winning total.
459 runs ahead at the start of the fourth day, Australia declared knowing that no nation in Test history had ever chased down a total that big and if the record was any chance of being broken it would certainly not be by this lacklustre West Indian side.
BOXING DAY TEST FULL SCOREBOARD
However despite their generally poor from throughout this series the West Indies were able to put together another fairly solid innings, their best yet of the series, thanks largely to half centuries from middle-order batsmen Denesh Ramdin and Jason Holder.
Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika both managed to avoid early dismissals, though while Brathwaite brought up his 31 runs at a relatively quick pace Chandrika took 130 balls to put together his 37 before being the third wicket to fall.
RELIVE DAY 4 IN THE ROAR’S LIVE BLOG
Darren Bravo was the second gone for the West Indies in between the two openers, unable to repeat his quality performance from the first innings, recording just 21 runs. Marlon Samuels (19) and Jermaine Blackwood (20) were not able to better him.
It was not until Ramdin and Holder were at the crease together that the West Indies were really able to manufacture a stable partnership. From Blackwood’s wicket in the fifty-eighth over they were able to add 100 runs to their nation’s total before Ramdin fell, becoming Mitch Marsh’s second wicket of the day.
Carlos Brathwaite was not nearly as successful in his second innings as a Test player as he was in his first, recording just two runs before he was bowled by Nathan Lyon.
True to his name, Holder held out a little longer and late in the afternoon with three wickets up their sleeves it looked like the West Indies just might take the Test into what would’ve been an unexpected fifth day.
It wasn’t to be the though as Marsh took Holder – his third wicket – and what was left of the batting order quickly crumbled.
James Pattinson took Kemar Roach and then Marsh claimed his fourth and final scalp of the day, taking Jerome Taylor for a three-ball duck to end the match.
In the end it was a more competitive effort from the West Indies than they put forward in Hobart but still a comprehensive win for Australia, who won the match by 177 runs having declared with plenty of wickets in hand in both innings.
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