Windies bowlers did terrific job

Fidel Edwards is pumped up (brooks la-touche photogaphy)

THURSDAY JUNE 11, Bridgetown, Barbados – West Indies captain Chris Gayle

was lavish in praise for his bowlers after they reduced Australia to 111 for five

and had the world champions in a corner at 226 for seven at the end of a rain-

curtailed first day, of the Third Digicel Test at the Kensington Oval.

"They (the bowlers) have been doing a terrific job for the last couple of Test

matches, and to continue in this game is really good and it is just to finish off on

a high now," Gayle told reporters at the end of the first day's play which allowed

56.4 overs until heavy showers in the final session brought an end to the day's

proceedings.

Gayle singled out his irrepressible all-rounder Dwayne Bravo who took three

wickets for 48 runs from 12.4 overs for special praise.

"Bravo did well, extremely well, always picking up wickets for us, Bravo can come

in the middle and get a few wickets," Gayle said of his 24-year-old medium fast

bowler who accounted for the wickets of Michael Hussey (12), Michael Clarke (0)

and top scorer Andrew Symonds who made 52.

Jerome Taylor the Jamaican fast bowler made the initial breakthrough when a

short delivery was skied by Phil Jaques (31), and Denesh Ramdin, the

wicketkeeper, made a stunning catch running all the way to fine leg.

Taylor then made the Australian captain Ricky Ponting (18) extremely

uncomfortable for a spell then as is almost customary dislodged him via the lbw

route.

In eight encounters in international cricket, Taylor has accounted for Ponting on

six of those occasions, and must now be considering claiming the Aussie skipper

as his 'bunny'. In the Second Digicel Test in Antigua Taylor dismissed Ponting on

both occasions for scores of 65 and 38.

Previously Taylor had sent Ponting packing in One Day Internationals in 2006 for

scores of 6, 1 and a duck.

Gayle noted that the West Indies team needs to get over the hurdle of taking

the first five wickets then being stuck.

"At the end we were stuck at five (wickets) for a while which we always do,

we're always stuck at five and we have to try and push on and knock over the

middle and lower order," Gayle reasoned.

The powerful left-hander, who is set to return to his main job of opening the

West Indies innings after missing the First and Second Digicel Tests due to a

groin injury, reckons that the pitch is not a nightmarish one for batting.

"It is a decent wicket to bat on after the shine comes off the ball, then basically

there is not a lot of sideways movement so once you dig in and decide you're

going to bat on that track, it's very good," Gayle analysed.

"It has generated pace, it is a bit quicker now, this morning it was a bit slow, it's

getting quicker, the surface is drying out now so obviously the ball is going to

come on more to the bat, once you apply yourself you will get runs out there,"

the big Jamaican power hitter reckoned. (COURTESY-: digicelcricket.com)