SYDNEY, Jan 4: Carlos Brathwaite provided some fireworks in a lively cameo as rain washed out all but 11.2 overs of the second day of the third Australia-West Indies Test on Monday.
The Barbados all-rounder clouted two massive sixes off one James Pattinson over on his way to a dynamic 69 after lunch at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Brathwaite smashed Pattinson over cover for his first powerful blow before flicking another off his pads for an effortless six over backward square leg.
But Pattinson had the last laugh, bowling the hulking all-rounder in his next over.
Brathwaite�s 69 runs came off 71 balls with seven fours and four sixes and further enhanced his reputation after his 59 on debut during the second Test in Melbourne.
�I just went out there and tried to play my game, thankfully I got from 30-odd overnight to 69,� Brathwaite said.
�I�m not satisfied that I didn�t carry on to get three figures or firstly to see out the day but I�m still happy in sense that I got my highest Test score.�
Brathwaite, who gave the 14,266 bedraggled fans some entertainment on a frustrating stop-start day, said he was disappointed to get out.
�I was very, very upset. Not on the dismissal because I think it was a good nut (ball), but I was upset that once again I got a start and couldn�t carry on and one of the main mantras in cricket is that when things are going good you maximise,� he said.
�Then reaching halfway off and hearing the crowd�s applause and I even saw some people standing, I just took a step back and said, �You know what, just enjoy the feeling� raised my bat and looked around and it was a very good feeling.�
Steve O�Keefe, one of the two recognised spinners along with Nathan Lyon in an Australian team for the first time in a decade in a home Test, said there was still time for Australia to get a result.
�I think so. I think there�s still a hell of a lot of cricket to go,� O�Keefe said.�
�Hopefully, if the skipper sees that spin will play a big role then we might get more overs in towards the back end of the match if the wicket keeps spinning, it�s spinning already.�
Only four overs could be bowled in the first session and 7.2 in the second before another heavy squall forced the players to leave the field for a third and final time.
SCORECARD
West Indies 1st innings: KC Brathwaite c Smith b Lyon 85, SD Hope c Nevill b Hazlewood 9, DM Bravo c Khawaja b Pattinson 33, MN Samuels run out (Hazlewood/Nevill) 4, J Blackwood b Lyon 10, D Ramdin not out 30, JO Holder c Burns b O'Keefe 1, CR Brathwaite b Pattinson 69, KAJ Roach not out 0. Extras: (b 5, lb 1, nb 1) 7. Total: (7 wickets; 86.2 overs) 248. Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-104, 3-115, 4-131, 5-158, 6-159, 7-246. Bowling: JR Hazlewood 15.2-5-37-1, JL Pattinson 16-3-67-2, NM Lyon 35-12-78-2, MR Marsh 4-1-15-0, SNJ O'Keefe 16-5-45-1. � AFP
