Neal Abberley, the former Warwickshire opening batsman and influential batting coach, has died in hospital of a heart and lung condition aged 67

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2011Neal Abberley, the former Warwickshire opening batsman who went on to become an influential batting coach, has died in hospital of a heart and lung condition aged 67. Abberley was a mentor to England batsman Ian Bell, who will wear a black armband in the upcoming Test against India at Edgbaston.Abberley, a left-handed top-order batsman, was on the books at Warwickshire for more than a decade and a half but throughout his career was never quite able to nail down a permanent spot in the side. His best period was in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he passed 1000 runs in a season three times, and in 1966-67 toured Pakistan with the MCC Under-25 side, a trip which was ended prematurely when he broke a finger. He was equally unable to command a regular place in the county’s formidable one-day team, although he appeared in two winnings Gillette Cup finals in 1966 and 1968 in what were only his fourth and seventh List A matches – and in neither year had he played in the semi-finals.Over a career that spanned 15 years at the county, he scored over 10,000 first-class runs at 24.47.His lasting impact to Warwickshire, though, came as a coach where he joined the staff in 1981. Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, told thecricketer.com: “To me he was a mentor, a confidant but, most of all, a friend. We knew he was getting a little bit fragile but we didn’t realise how fragile so his death has come as a shock to everyone.”He gave his life to Warwickshire and there are a lot of players who owe a huge debt of gratitude to him. Without Neal Abberley I would not be Warwickshire’s director of cricket and I would not have played 54 Tests for England. When I first met him I was an 18-year-old triallist and I was still wet behind the ears having come from living at home with mum and dad.”He helped me to grow up. He was old school and it was a tough school at times and a steep learning curve. But Neal was a great influence on me and he set me on the road to where I am now.”The third Test will be the first since Edgbaston’s £32million redevelopment and Warwickshire are expected to fly flags at half-mast during the match.

Mark Wallace has been named Glamorgan captain for the 2012 season, taking over from Alvrio Petersen who will be replaced as overseas player by Marcus North

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2011Mark Wallace has been named Glamorgan captain for the 2012 season, taking over from Alvrio Petersen who will be replaced as overseas player by Marcus North.Wallace, 29, made his Glamorgan debut in 1999 and reached England Lions level before fading from the scene but this season has enjoyed his best Championship season with more than 900 runs.”This is a very proud moment for me,” Wallace said. “It is a great honour to be appointed captain of my county and I hope I can follow in the famous and illustrious footsteps of my predecessors. I am delighted to receive this personal accolade but my job now is to help the team achieve what I know we are capable of, and bring success back to Glamorgan.”Colin Metson, Glamorgan Cricket’s managing director, said: “We are delighted Mark has accepted the role of club captain for 2012. He has been a senior player for a few years now and is a very experienced cricketer who can take this team and the club to the next level. The other three candidates, Jim Allenby, Marcus North and Gareth Rees, were all very strong, and the interview panel was very impressed in the way they approached the whole process.”

Mickey Arthur, the former coach of South Africa, believes Lonwabo Tsotsobe can hold his place in the Test side despite the expected inclusion of Imran Tahir

Brydon Coverdale19-Oct-2011Mickey Arthur, the former coach of South Africa, believes Lonwabo Tsotsobe can hold his place in the Test side despite the expected inclusion of Imran Tahir. The balance of South Africa’s attack will change if the selectors hand a debut to Tahir, who would be the first right-arm wrist-spinner to play for South Africa since their readmission to Test cricket.An aggressive Pakistani-born legspinner who qualified to play for South Africa in January, Tahir is likely to debut in the first Test against Australia in Cape Town next month. It will be quite a shift for South Africa, who for years have relied on the left-arm spinner Paul Harris to hold down one end while the fast men attacked at the other.However, Harris lost his central contract this year and is not expected to be part of the Test series. Arthur, who now coaches Western Australia, believes Tsotsobe will need to play an important containing role in Harris’ absence.”The key will be the third seamer if they want to play the legspinner,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “By all accounts it looks as though they will be playing Tahir instead of Paul Harris. Harris did a really good job for us at one time. He performed his role to unbelievable ability. He did everything that we wanted from him.”He stopped the game for us. He allowed our strikers to come on and strike. But that attack changes when you have a legspinner, because the legspinner becomes a strike bowler and the third seamer has to become a workhorse. It will be interesting to see who they pick there; I suspect it will be Tsotsobe.”Tsotsobe has played five of South Africa’s past eight Tests but nine wickets at 49.77 was hardly the return he would have hoped for. However, Arthur believes Tsotsobe is a man who can “bottle the game up”, while the new-ball strike bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel provide the major threats.The inclusion of Tahir, 32, will be an exciting development for South Africa, after he made his ODI debut during the World Cup this year. He took 14 wickets at 10.71 during his five games in that tournament and Arthur said while he was a wicket-taker, he would also give Australia’s batsmen opportunities to score.”He is an aggressive bowler, always looking for wickets,” Arthur said. “He’s a strike bowler. In between those major wicket-taking deliveries you’ll get balls you can put away as well. So again, that’s why the balance of the attack is so key.”The other major selection issue for South Africa surrounds the batting line-up, with AB de Villiers likely to miss the Test series due to a hand injury. One man building a strong case for inclusion is Jacques Rudolph, who has made 54, 80, 118, 19, 210 and 87 for the Titans this season, and could play his first Test in five years after placing his international career on hold to pursue a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire.”South Africa have a very settled top order,” Arthur said. “Whether or not they pick Jacques Rudolph is going to be interesting because there is a spot open with AB de Villiers being injured. I expect them to go with Smith, Alviro Peterson, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, and then two of Rudolph, Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy. Rudolph has had an unbelievable start to the domestic season so I think he will definitely come in to the mix.”

Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, says his side are prepared for anything Australia do as a reaction to their loss at Newlands

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg14-Nov-2011Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, says his side are prepared for anything Australia do as a reaction to their loss at Newlands, during which Australia were bowled out for their lowest total in over 100 years. Pat Cummins, Australia’s 18-year-old fast bowler, is being tipped to play on Thursday at the Wanderers, which would make him Australia’s second-youngest Test debutant. That will surprise some in the cricketing world, who are used to Australia grooming players before putting them on the international stage, but Amla said South Africa would be ready for any changes.”One of the things we are trying to do is to prepare so we are not surprised by whatever happens,” Amla said in Johannesburg, where South Africa regrouped on Monday after a weekend off. “We’ve gone through their bowlers, and if Cummins plays, we’ve played against him in the one-dayers so it won’t be a massive surprise to us.”Cummins impressed with his control, pace and variation in the limited-overs matches, but was benched in favour of a more experienced attack for the first Test. Australia now have concerns in the bowling department, with Mitchell Johnson, who has an impressive record in South Africa, and Peter Siddle, taking just a wicket apiece in the first Test.Australia’s shocking collapse to 47 all out on the second day at Newlands has raised questions about how they will recover. But Amla does not think Australia will struggle to pick themselves up. “Matches like that probably happen once in every 500 Tests. I don’t think they will read too much into it, although it has maybe dented their confidence a little bit. They’ve got quality players – guys that have played probably three times as many Tests as I have – to bring sanity back if they have had a flutter.”Amla said the Newlands Test, which lasted three days and saw a remarkable 23 wickets fall on the second day, took its toll on both sides. “Because it was very short, it did take a lot out of the players emotionally. We had two unexpected days off, which was a nice surprise. We were on the right side of that game but the guys are looking forward to the next one.”The Wanderers Test, according to Amla, will likely be decided on which batsmen have settled into good patterns in the early season. “Every batsman has it. Some people call it rhythm, some call it form. I find batting rhythm very important.”The key to batting is partnerships, no matter who is scoring. Even if someone is finding it difficult to score and isn’t getting runs, it doesn’t matter as long as the partnership is building. At the Wanderers, if we can build partnerships it will be the key to a successful batting performance.”On a Newlands pitch on which most batsmen struggled, Amla and Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, both scored centuries in the successful chase of 236. Amla said having the captain in form was important for the team, who bank on their experienced players to pull them out of tricky spots. “We’ve got Jacques [Kallis], Bouch [Mark Boucher] and Graeme. When things are tough and situations are a bit out of the ordinary, they rally around and give the team a lot more direction.”

Kumar Sangakkara is a doubt for the opening Test against South Africa after splitting the webbing on his right hand

Firdose Moonda at Willowmoore Park11-Dec-2011Kumar Sangakkara is a doubt for the opening Test against South Africa after splitting the webbing on his right hand during the warm-up match against an Invitational XI in Benoni. His concerns added to Sri Lanka’s problems as they ended the rain-hit three-day match in a more wounded state than when they began having also watched Nuwan Pradeep tear his right hamstring.Pradeep suffered his injury after bowling ten deliveries on the second day and, while he was not immediately ruled out of the tour, it seems likely he’ll soon fly home . Sri Lanka were already without four injured quicks who didn’t make the original squad. Sangakkara, meanwhile, faces a tight timeframe to be ready for the first Test at Centurion on Thursday after tearing webbing between the first and second fingers on his right hand while fielding at point and did not bat on the final day.He has had three stitches in the wound and hopes “it will settle over the next three to four days.” However, although the injury was played down by team manager Anura Tennekoon, Sangakkara himself was cautious about his prospects. “We just have to keep an eye on it and see how we go,” he said. “That’s the annoying thing about these little injuries. We can’t say for certain.”One thing Sangakkara was sure of was that he will not take the field next week unless he is declared fully fit, even though he is able to hold a bat with his current injury. “You probably could [play] but you don’t want to hamper the side by being half-fit,” he said. “You need to be 100% to play in a Test match. I have to be confident that I can handle a bat, otherwise I won’t play.”There is a glimmer of hope for Sri Lanka, though. Their bowling reserves may be beefed up by the return to fitness of two of the four injured seamers who are currently back home. Prior to their departure to South Africa, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal were all ruled out of their tour but the former two could be called back into the side.”It’s not been a great few months. We’ve got eight or nine really top-class fast bowlers but when you have half of them nursing injuries it doesn’t help the side’s cause,” Sangakkara said. “Kulasekara and Dhammika Prasad both have just come back to bowling now so they will stand a good chance of coming back on the tour.”No replacement players have been named yet but Sri Lanka are expected to make assessments in the next two days and take a call about whether they need additional players ahead of the first Test.

At first glance the Centurion strip threatens a match that will end in fewer than five days

Firdose Moonda at Centurion14-Dec-2011One of sport’s most important lessons is that looks can be deceiving. Hashim Amla’s prominent backlift was believed to be an insurmountable stumbling block on his quest to be a successful international batsman. More than 4,000 Test runs later, it’s seldom criticised. Lovers of the five-day game will hope this logic applies to pitches too, because at first glance the Centurion strip threatens a match that will end in fewer.Without any mincing of words, the pitch is green. It is not a strip of brown with patches of green, it is pretty much entirely green. Bowlers will drool at the sight of it, batsmen will quiver, but the groundsman Hilbert Smit, will nod wisely, knowing there is something more to it than meets the eye.”People see it as more of a danger than it really is,” Smit told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s quite thick grass at the top, not thick, patchy grass that creates seam movement. We’ve also prepared it to be quite hard underneath but the harder we can get it, the better.”While Smit acknowledged that he is preparing a surface which will aid pace and bounce, he said that his first priority was to create a result pitch, that will see the game end “late or on day four or after that.” He also steered away from reinforcing that it is a bowl-first surface and said that the captains will have to think further than just day one and should be seduced by first impressions.”South Africa will have to decide if they want to bowl first and bat fourth, where they will face a spinner on a pitch that may take turn or if they can see off the Sri Lankan seamers for a while on the first day. Sri Lanka will have to decide if they want to bowl first, where their spinners won’t come into play or if they should wait to bowl last,” Smit said. “The more I can confuse the captains, the better.”Under clearing skies, with minimal rain forecast, the pitch is likely to lose some of its nastiness by morning and ease out as the match goes on. Still, Graeme Smith could not hide his grin when asked about it although he did manage to temper his response. “It could be interesting, especially day one, it might do a little bit,” he said. His counterpart, Tillakaratne Dilshan, said this was “definitely the greenest pitch” he had ever seen in South Africa.South Africa is synonymous with pace-friendly pitches and they crank it up a notch when they are due a visit from a sub-continental side. Most of the time, it has worked in their favour. Recently, though, it has worked for and against them, with bowlers from both teams benefiting from the conditions. Smith said although the teams are looking forward to exploiting their own conditions, South Africa will not get overly enthusiastic because green tops have served both them, and their opposition well.”We know that South African conditions can turn a seamer with a limited record into a seamer with a very good record,” Smith said, “So, we have respect for the conditions we are playing on and the challenges we face in the next few weeks.”Instead, Smith said he will encourage his bowlers to show maturity in the way they approach their tasks. “Control is a word we can use, more in mindset more than anything else,” he said. “Our bowlers must not to get too emotional, must execute their plans well and be aggressive in the right mindset. The attitude with which we bowl is going to be very important.”South Africa’s batsmen will also have to prepare for an assault from Sri Lanka’s attack, who may relish the chance to play in favourable conditions. “It’s a different challenge for our batters. We’ve come off a series [against Australia] where the four bowlers we faced were bowling at over 145kph,” Smith said. “Now, we will face different challenges.”Sri Lanka are expected to rely on accuracy and persistence to create breakthroughs and Dale Steyn said it is a strategy, that if employed properly, could be successful. “When we played Australia, we had a guy like Shane Watson who put the ball in the right areas and he made it really difficult. He wasn’t bowling anywhere near the pace of [Mitchell] Johnson or [Peter] Siddle but he got a lot of wickets,” Steyn said. “And that’s what these guys can offer. We’re quite wary of that.”Although Sri Lanka have suffered a series of injuries to their pack of fast bowlers, but the rest of the attack, who are largely unknown to South Africa, could prove to be their X-factor. “The fact that we haven’t seen them makes them dangerous,” Hashim Amla said. “It will be a bit more of a challenge for us.”

Just as the remarkable buildings that rise out of the desert in the UAE rely on solid foundations, so England have had cause to be thankful for the opening partnership between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in recent years.

George Dobell in Dubai23-Jan-2012Just as the remarkable buildings that rise out of the desert in the UAE rely on solid foundations, so England have had cause to be thankful for the opening partnership between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in recent years.Like the foundations of those buildings, the Strauss/Cook partnership might not be the most attractive feature in the edifice of Team England. But take away those foundations and the whole structure crumbles.The pair will – all being well – open the batting together for the 100th time in Tests when Pakistan and England renew rivalries in Abu Dhabi from Wednesday. No previous England opening pair has done that. Indeed, the Marcus Tresocthick and Michael Vaughan pairing is the next most-common for England; they opened together 54 times in Tests. Only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes – 148 Test innings as opening partners – Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya – 118 – and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer – 113 – have opened together more in Test cricket than Strauss and Cook.The Strauss/Cook partnership has served England well. Since they first came together – in Nagpur in March 2006 – they have played key roles in winning the Ashes home and away and helping England to the top of the Test rankings. They have put on 4,163 runs together as an opening pair at an average of 42.91 with 11 hundreds and 15 half-century stands.Including the 14 times they have batted together in other positions, they have scored 4,651 Test runs together. Only five Test partnerships can better that, with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid – 6,900 Test runs – leading the way.Strauss and Cook couldn’t claim to be England’s best opening pair. Between 1924 and 1930 Herbert Sutcliffe and Jack Hobbs opened together on 38 occasions in Test cricket and amassed 3,249 runs at the remarkable average of 87.81. It is also worth noting that Strauss and Marcus Trescothick made 2,670 runs together as openers at the impressive average of 52.35. A reminder, perhaps, of what might have been had Trescothick not been affected by illness.There have been some worrying signs of late, too. Nine of Strauss and Cook’s last 11 opening stands have failed to reach 25 – seven of them have failed to pass ten – while, on the evidence of watching them in the nets on Monday, neither looked in the best of form. Strauss, in particular, looked quite wretched.But they’ve experienced lean patches before. England have stuck with them and that loyalty has been rewarded. It would be foolish to write off the Strauss and Cook combination just yet.”We’ve had some great moments,” Cook said after England had finished training on Monday. “Probably the highlight for me would be Australia at Lord’s in 2009 when, after not batting so well in Cardiff, we came back and set a really good platform. Then there was Brisbane in 2010 as well. They’re the two that stand out for me.”It’s always nice to have stability at the top of the order. I hope we inspire some confidence in the rest of the team when we walk out together. We hope, for the 100th time, we can do something special.”It is the captain’s form that is causing most concern at present. While his position is not under any serious threat, his lack of runs at the top of the order – one century in 26 Tests and none since November 2010 – is an uncomfortable reality that England are hoping will be remedied soon.Cook, naturally, was keen to defend Strauss. “He’s got a great record proven over a number of years,” Cook said. “To have the experience at the top of the order has held us in good stead. We’re very similar in character and we do enjoy batting together.”It’s our job at the top of the order to lay that platform. We didn’t do that in Dubai, and that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t get a good total. It’s not the be-all and end-all but it’s certainly a major responsibility and always has been. Whenever you open the batting, you have to lay as good a platform as you can. We have done it in the past but we didn’t last week and it cost us.”Cook admitted that England’s confidence had taken a blow as a consequence of the defeat in Dubai. “When you lose – and lose so heavily – it does dent confidence,” he said. “But if you look at history, when we have produced a poor performance we’ve managed to bounce back well. We hope we can this time.”We said when we turned number one and everyone said what a good team we are, that there were going to be some rocky roads ahead at times. No matter how good a side you are, you will always lose some games of cricket against the very good sides we’re playing. But you don’t become bad players or a bad team overnight. Whatever you read, or people say about you, we know we’ve got some seriously world-class players in our team. This is a real test of our character. We’ve shown it in the past and hope we can show it again.”Strauss and Cook can take some comfort from the reputation of the Abu Dhabi surface. Both Tests played at the ground have been high-scoring draws and have four scores over 400 have been recorded.”It’s always nice when you turn up to a ground where history suggests you can score runs,” Cook said. “But that doesn’t really count for anything. We’ve got to go out and put our poor performance behind us. We held our hands up as a batting unit. The reason we didn’t get close in that last match was the top six. The beauty about another game coming so quickly is we can put that right. I know we’ve got the characters and the record to do that.”It may be relevant that the only opening pair to score more runs together in 2011 were Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar. Taufeeq scored 236 against Sri Lanka in the last Test in Abu Dhabi.The pitch is expected to be slow, with England likely to remain unchanged. But Pakistan are considering bringing in Junaid Khan, who claimed five for 38 against Sri Lanka here in October, in place of Aizaz Cheema, and Umar Akmal in place of Asad Shafiq.

Some of New Zealand’s grounds have boundaries are too small and pitches that are too flat, especially with the increasing power of bats, fast bowler Kyle Mills has said

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012Some of New Zealand’s grounds have boundaries that are too small and pitches that are too flat, especially with the increasing power of bats, fast bowler Kyle Mills has said. Mills’ comments came ahead of the second ODI between New Zealand and South Africa at McLean Park in Napier, where the square boundaries are a little over 50 metres long.”I’m a bowler so I’m going to be a little bit biased. I think the wickets are too flat and the boundaries need to go out further,” Mills told . “The bats are all pretty good these days and a mis-hit can go for six.”I think Hamilton is ridiculous. The ropes are 4m in from the [advertising] boards; that’s absurd. Richard Levi probably would have got out three or four times if the rope was back on the boards.”Levi hit a record 13 sixes during his 117 off 51 balls, the fastest Twenty20 century, at Seddon Park. His first six was a top-edged sweep over the fine-leg boundary against the spinner Nathan McCullum.Mills also called the length of the straight boundaries at Eden Park in Auckland “absurd”.”A good-sized cricket ground makes for exceptionally good batsmanship; we saw that at the Cake Tin [in Wellington], where there are reasonably sized boundaries,” Mills said. “We saw plenty of ones, plenty of twos, and the odd three. It was great for people to watch a batter like [AB de Villiers] on a good-sized ground.”The ICC’s playing conditions stipulate that the boundary rope must be at least three metres away from the fence/advertisement hoardings for safety reasons. It also says the shorter of the square boundaries should be a minimum of 59.43 metres and both the straight boundaries should be at least 64 metres.
According to the playing conditions: “In all cases the aim shall be to provide the largest playing area, subject to no boundary exceeding 90 yards (82.29 meters) from the centre of the pitch to be used”.There is, however, a provision for cricket grounds that have smaller dimensions. “Any ground which has been approved to host international cricket prior to October 1, 2007, or which is currently under construction as of this date which is unable to conform to these new minimum dimensions, shall be exempt.”Edited by George Binoy

Australia’s captain Shane Watson and the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson both believed their sides missed a golden opportunity to go up 2-1 in the series in St Vincent on Tuesday

Brydon Coverdale21-Mar-2012Australia’s captain Shane Watson and the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson both believed their sides missed a golden opportunity to go up 2-1 in the series in St Vincent on Tuesday. The dramatic tie has left the contest at 1-1 ahead of the final two matches in St Lucia, and both camps were left with a hollow feeling after the game.West Indies entered the final over needing seven runs for victory with one wicket in hand, and after a Darren Sammy boundary the scores were level with three balls to play. However, a brain-snap from Sammy’s partner Kemar Roach caused a run-out from the next delivery, and Gibson said there were mixed feelings in the rooms after the match.”We should have won today and we have quite a few disappointed boys in the dressing room at the moment,” Gibson said. “But, look at it this way, we didn’t lose the match and we are still in with a great chance of winning the series.”Today, we clawed our way back from five down for just 78 runs and kept pace with the target. The lower order kept us in the game and credit must go to them for the way they played. The last five wickets gave us close to 150 runs so that’s a really good effort. We keep showing the fight that we have spoken about for a long time and we are seeing signs of improvement. Our fielding effort and our bowling performance today were outstanding.”The way we kept going and kept ourselves in the contest was good to see. The last time the Australians toured the West Indies [in 2008], at this stage, the series was already over. They went on to win 5-0. Now at this stage we are still in it with all to play for.”West Indies left plenty of work for their lower order after slipping to 78 for 5 in a chase of 221 and Watson said it was disappointing his side had not been able to close out the game at that stage. However, he said the Australians were relieved at the final run-out, which gave them some consolation.”In the end, seven off the last over you’re thinking it’s one shot away,” Watson said. “So at that moment when we got the run-out you do feel like it’s a bit of a win. But you look back and probably even ten overs before that we should have closed out the game. It’s mixed feelings.”Watson was at the centre of a key moment in the game when he bowled Andre Russell off a no-ball in the 40th over, which gave West Indies an important reprieve. Watson’s frustration was compounded when he also bowled Russell off the free hit that followed, and he said he knew he had over-stepped when went back and checked his footmarks.”It was a bit of a weird situation, really,” he said. “I haven’t actually bowled a no-ball in a game for, well, I can’t remember the last time I bowled one. That was very disappointing, especially in that crucial time. To get a guy out, bowl him twice in two balls and get zero result out of it, and actually giving him a run, it’s very disappointing.””When I checked the footmarks I knew I had stepped over. That was not a good feeling, knowing where my spike-marks were. It’s not good enough.”The teams will now move on to St Lucia for the last two one-day internationals, to be played on Friday and Sunday.

By the end of a rain-shortened opening day, neither side could claim any real advantage but Kraigg Brathwaite’s stubborn half-century and Kirk Edwards’ 61 had given the hosts something to build on

The Report by Brydon Coverdale07-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKraigg Brathwaite made 57 from 199 balls•AFP

There’s no doubt about it: the Test series has started. After two weeks of limited-overs games between these two teams and while the IPL, with its promise of immediate gratification, gets under way in India, West Indies and Australia played out a dour first day in Barbados. By the end of a rain-shortened day, neither side could claim any real advantage but Kraigg Brathwaite’s stubborn half-century and Kirk Edwards’ 61 had given the hosts something to build on.An afternoon shower halted proceedings after 73 hard-fought overs in which West Indies had inched along to 179 for 3. The Australians had not long removed the limpet-like Brathwaite for 57 from 199 deliveries only to be greeted by the sight of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who during the last Caribbean series between the sides enjoyed a batting stretch of 18 hours without being dismissed, walking to the crease.When play was abandoned for the day, Chanderpaul was on 8 and Darren Bravo had made 20 from 60 deliveries, and their partnership loomed as a key for both sides with Narsingh Deonarine the only specialist batsman still to come. The two men were hoping to build on the platform constructed by Brathwaite and Edwards but should Australia separate them early on day two, the work of the top order might be annulled.Bravo had shown some inclination to attack early in his innings as he launched the occasional legspin of David Warner high into the stands over long-on, but he was quiet after that. It didn’t help that he lost the established Brathwaite, who tickled behind off Peter Siddle to give the debutant wicketkeeper Matthew Wade his first catch in Test cricket.It was the end of a gritty but far from unblemished innings from Brathwaite, who now has four half-centuries from his seven Tests but is yet to move beyond the 60s. The Australians dropped Brathwaite twice and Edwards once in an untidy fielding display and their partnership was allowed to blossom to 104 runs thanks to the let-offs.Brathwaite was put down on 10 when he pushed a ball from Siddle uppishly back to the left of the bowler, who misjudged the chance and spilled the catch with his left hand. Another life came on 44, when Ricky Ponting at second slip grassed a tough diving opportunity off Shane Watson.The simplest of all the lives was the chance given to Edwards on 56 when he edged a fullish wide ball from Siddle and Watson at fourth slip saw a sitter bounce out of his hands. Fortunately for Watson, Edwards added only five more to his score before on 61 he gave Warner his first Test wicket and just his second in first-class cricket.Warner bowled some good balls during his spell, flighting the ball to encourage strokeplay, and Edwards obliged by driving a delivery hard back at the bowler. But Warner’s reflexes were good enough and he snapped up an excellent return catch low to his right, rewarding the willingness of the captain Michael Clarke to try new things in the search for a partnership breaker.The only wicket in the first session had come when Adrian Barath, on 22 from 54 balls, fell for an obvious plan as Ryan Harris came around the wicket with a short-leg and deep backward square leg in position. The bouncer was bowled and Barath obliged with an attempted hook that flew off the top edge and was easily taken by Siddle at deep backward square leg.But that brought Edwards and Brathwaite together and they dug in to deny Australia’s bowlers. Brathwaite is renowned as an old-fashioned style of opener, one whose first priority is survival and a player for whom scoring appears to be an afterthought. That was precisely how he played his first Test innings at his home ground, Kensington Oval.He took few risks, although a couple of drives flew off the edge through gaps, and his four boundaries all came behind the wicket. He ended the innings with a strike-rate of 32.80 in his short Test career, comfortably the lowest of regular specialist batsmen in Tests in the past year, but West Indies would prefer an opener who can grind out a half-century than one who flashes and falls quickly.Generally, it was up to Brathwaite’s partners to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Edwards did that through some confident strokeplay down the ground against the offspin of Nathan Lyon. Edwards lifted Lyon over long-on for a six and was happy to drive him along the ground, while he also picked off the fast men when they strayed on to his pads.His half-century came with an impressive loft over long-off against the legspin of Warner from his 97th delivery, whereas Brathwaite took 163 balls to bring up his fifty. Together they caused problems for Australia’s fast men, who found early swing but couldn’t force enough shots to make it dangerous.Harris was included and James Pattinson was named 12th man, and there were times when Clarke must have wished for Pattinson’s explosiveness and ability to run through an order. By the close of play Australia had fought back but the first session of day two loomed as a big one for both teams.