Smith and Green rise to the occasion as Australia pile pressure on West Indies

9 hours ago 5

St George’s: It was as if Steve Smith and Cameron Green looked at each other on an overcast third morning of the second Test in Grenada and made a pact that enough was enough.

Australia’s top order has been the subject of enough scrutiny and ridicule on this West Indies tour that it was time for two players at very different stages of their career to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.

By tea on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST) at Grenada’s National Cricket Stadium, Australia had rallied from 2-4 late on day two to 4-175, with a 208-run lead, thanks to potentially match-defining contributions from Green (52) and Smith (70 not out).

Their hard-fought partnership of 93 runs was the highest they’ve shared in Tests and surpassed their previous best of 81 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022.

Smith, who was Australia’s lowest scorer in the first innings with three runs, seemed unperturbed by the finger injury that sidelined him in Bridgetown. He was hit on the same hand early in his innings but put up with the pain and stuck to the task.

Green, meanwhile, answered any lingering doubts about his credentials at No.3 with a string of crisp cut shots, each one crashing to the boundary like a bullet from the bat.

Australia’s Steve Smith chats with teammate Cameron Green during their partnership.

Australia’s Steve Smith chats with teammate Cameron Green during their partnership.Credit: AP

Their mature approach on day three was a welcome relief in the Australian dressing room where middle-order batsmen have found themselves racing to get the pads on during a tour of top-order collapses.

At times, the Grenada pitch was as volatile as the Caribbean island’s weather, which halted play several times throughout the morning.

As a first option, getting forward was a non-negotiable on this pitch, given how many balls shot through at shin height.

West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope was given a thorough work over, unsure if his toes or teeth were in greater danger on a pitch tailor-made for Australia’s experienced and metronomic pace trio in the fourth innings of the match.

Green’s breakthrough knock of 174 not out at No.4 against New Zealand in February last year showed he had the temperament and technique to flourish as a top-order batsman.

However, it had been a lean run since then, either side of a serious back injury. As Australia’s No. 3 or No. 4, Green had followed up that big hundred with a string of modest scores: 25, 5, 4, 0, 3, 15 and 26.

Australia’s best young batting talent since Ricky Ponting, according to Greg Chappell, is too good a player to miss out again and again.

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Green is a nervous starter, always eager to get bat on and ball with a tendency to play away from his body at times.

But Green’s strength lies in playing with the full face of the bat, and it was a beautiful straight drive to bring up his seventh Test half-century that had all the hallmarks of a young Ponting.

Next ball, disaster struck, as Green chopped a Shamar Joseph delivery back onto his stumps.

Typically level-headed, Green couldn’t hide his frustration, storming off the field with words muttered under his breath.

Travis Head’s blistering cover drive off the first delivery he faced sent a sharp reminder to the West Indies that this was going to be a long afternoon. Head was unbeaten on 28 from 26 balls at the tea break.

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