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Rising to the challenge Lara's century lifts West Indies' spirits against Australia
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) -- Embattled West Indian batsman Brian Lara lifted his side's sagging fortunes against Australia with a timely hundred Friday on the first day of the third cricket test at the Adelaide Oval. After losing the first two tests inside three days, the West Indies, inspired by Lara's unbeaten 136, hit up 274 for four at stumps after deciding to make first use of excellent batting conditions. Lara, who had gone into the test following scores of 0, 4, 0 and 17, nursed a troubled shoulder and a niggling hamstring throughout the memorable 260-minute innings to lift the West Indies after three wickets had fallen for 86 runs. Lara and skipper Jimmy Adams (49) ground out the Australian bowling in a pacesetting 183-run fourth-wicket stand before and after the tea break in 11 minutes over three hours. A persistent Jason Gillespie was well rewarded for a fine spell of fast bowling and ended the threatening stand in the penultimate over of the day. Gillespie, 4-56 in 26 overs, had Adams caught behind by stopgap captain and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Lara rose to the challenge of rescuing the struggling West Indies and played a characteristically aggressive 174-ball innings for his 15th test hundred and the sixth against Australia. "I rate it very highly," Lara said of his performance. "We batted badly as a team in the first two tests. We've been under a lot of pressure and been working hard to pull things together as a team. "It has been a rough ride. The runs have been coming but not in the right match. This was the real test and I was happy to get it." He raced to his century off 140 balls, with the second 50 of the innings coming off a run-a-ball as he took the attack to the leg spinner Stuart MacGill. Lara hit MacGill for six boundaries and then deposited him over the square leg boundary for a six. The princely Trinidadian warmed the 18,315 South Australians to a treat of a trademark Lara innings and left the Australian attack in total disarray for the first time in the series. Gilchrist, standing in for the injured Steve Waugh, was forced to make bowling changes as Lara continued to pepper the cover boundary with most of his 21 boundaries. Six of the boundaries came in two sets of threes off fast bowlers Gillespie and then McGrath after the lunch break. This was after McGrath, who had claimed his wicket in three of Lara's four outings this series, had peppered Lara with a series of bouncers. One of the deliveries hit Lara on the side of his helmet when the batsman was only 11. "He [McGrath] has had his days so far in the series, and I am quite happy to get one up on him," Lara said. "It's a battle and it's going to continue for the rest of the series." Enjoying one of the best batting forms of the tour, Lara continued from where he left off in his 231 in his last first-class outing against Australia A at Hobart, and hit only his second test century over a 21-month period. Lara said the shoulder injury sustained in Hobart meant he couldn't hit the ball hard but the pain was bearable and he "survived." "You're out there to play for your team and your country and whatever the circumstances you have to stick it out in the middle," said Lara. He made full use of a reprieve on 73 -- Mark Waugh dropping his second catch of the day at first slip -- and launched an unerring attack to put to rest the speculations that he had lost the appetite for big innings. Adams kept his former skipper company with a typical captain's innings and hit four boundaries off 165 balls as they posted West Indies' first century stand of the series. Gillespie, sharing the new ball with McGrath, struck twice before the lunch break to remove openers Sherwin Campbell and Daren Ganga and soon after had the dangerous No.3 Wavell Hinds well caught by the new Australian vice-captain Ricky Ponting, standing at first slip. Gillespie forced Ganga (23) to play on and 15 balls later won a leg before decision against the West Indies vice-captain. This was after the two openers had shared the best opening stand of the series -- 45 runs in 87 minutes.
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