Welcome to news.com.au’s live coverage of Day Three of the First Test in Perth.
The Perth Stadium has been a batters’ paradise with Australia enjoying a lead of 524 when play resumed on Friday after declaring at 4/598.
The West Indies denied Australia any wickets with the new ball on Thursday night, but everything changed in the first over of play with Josh Hazlewood coming up with a peach of a delivery that caught opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul nervously coming forward.
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2.30pm AEDT – West Indies batter retires
Nkrumah Bonner has retired his innings several overs after he was assessed for concussion.
The batter ducked into a nasty bouncer from Cam Green and wore a 140km/h bouncer on his helmet. Replays showed he ducked into it awkwardly after clearly judging the length wrong. The ball struck him in the back of the head as he turned away at the very last second.
“That’s a really nasty one,”a Channel 7 commentator said.
Fox Cricket’s Mark Howard said the West Indies camp has communicated that Bonner retired under concussion protocols and the team has not yet announced its concussion substitution.
Bonner was said to be feeling “dizzy” as he left the field.
2.15pm AEDT – Hazlewood comes up with a beauty
Hazlewood’s perfect line and length delivery caught the outside edge and the catch was gobbled up by David Warner in the slips.
Fox Cricket’s Isa Guha called it an “absolutely perfect” delivery.
“It’s brilliant bowling. An exhibition from one of the best,” she said.
Chanderpual, on debut, had brought up his fifty with a boundary the previous ball, but Hazlewood responded with his next delivery.
Earlier, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne continued their rich form with the willow in their hands.
Labuschagne notched a stunning 204 before Smith then carried on his own brilliant innings where he reached 200 not out before Australia’s declaration.
As the third and final session got underway Smith and Travis Head inched closer to major milestones, but it all went horribly wrong as he chopped a delivery from Kraigg Brathwaite onto his stumps needing just one run to reach his century.
Skipper Pat Cummins waved an end to the innings as Head walked off with his head slumped.
He would have had a smile back on his face after watching Hazlewood’s first wicket.
1.45pm AEDT – Mitch Marsh misses entire summer
Mitchell Marsh will miss the Australian summer of cricket after making a late decision to undergo surgery
The allrounder has been battling the ankle injury for months and finally gave up on trying to manage the issue through physiotherapy.
The Perth Scorchers confirmed the news that he underwent keyhole surgery in Sydney on Thursday.
Marsh is hoping to make his return before Australia’s ODI series against India in March.
1.45pm – Unnerving Steve Smith footage emerges
Steve Smith looked invincible in his opening knock of the summer against the West Indies, but some concerning footage from behind the scenes shows otherwise.
The former captain has been battling an ongoing hip injury and has revealed the joint has been “locked up” for the entire five days he has been in Perth.
He said on Friday he had been unable to sleep because there was “a lot of pain”.
He said the issue will force him to take up a different stance when fielding in the slips on Day Three because of the pain in reaching towards the ground.
It was clear to see how serious the injury is as he grimaced and hobbled out of his press conference at the end of play on Day 2.
He spent the night getting treatment on the massage table.