Bridgetown (Barbados): Veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit his 25th Test century as West Indies piled-up 449 for nine declared to take a firm grip on the first Test against Australia.
At stumps on the second day at Kensington Oval on Sunday, Australia had reached 44 without loss in reply with openers Ed Cowan on 27 and David Warner also unbeaten on 13.
Chanderpaul batted for 386 minutes for his unbeaten 103, becoming the leading run scorer in Tests at the Kensington Oval while skipper Darren Sammy thrilled the crowd with a quickfire 41.
“I never expected to be the person who had the most runs at Kensington. To have the most runs is a hell of an achievement,” said Chanderpaul.
“Against an opposition like Australia if you’re doing well against them you know the world is watching. When you go against them you have to bring your ‘A’ game. You can’t just walk out and decide that you can play anyhow against them. You have to step up.”
In the morning, Australia took the new ball as soon as it became available but it didn’t seem to provide any more movement than the old one. Skipper Michael Clarke had a gully and a short backward point in place to Darren Bravo and the plan worked when he played a tentative shot to the slower pace of Shane Watson, the ball going straight to Mike Hussey.
Bravo’s slow trudge off the field showed his clear disappointment after his innings of 51 had been brought to an end. (AFP)