Welcome to our live coverage of the opening Test between Australia and West Indies.
The Aussies have dominated proceedings so far, amassing a huge first innings total in what has been a batsman’s paradise.
Will the races continue to flow?
Follow all the action in our live coverage below.
WICKET: LYON TRAP; DISCARDED BONNER
He survived a controversial overhaul but Jason Holder (27) returns to the pavilion, falling to a brilliant piece of cricket.
With the new ball just after tea, Lyon is bowled and delivered by Australia.
Around the wicket, Holder falls into Lyon’s trap, and leaves the delivery to David Warner to slide down leg. Sharp capture of the “Bull” or is it the “priest”?
Isha Guha said: “Line change brings a wicket and Jason Holder falls into the trap.”
Fox Sports commentator Kerry O’Keeffe praised the wicket’s method.
“That’s why he (Lyon) put his leg in.”
“He knows that Holder likes to hit with the open face, so he changed his angle around the wicket.
“Good thinking, great piece of bowling. That’s a big stick, Jason Holder looked dangerous.
Australia’s cricket editor Peter Lalor has given an update on Nkrumah Bonner, the West Indies opener who withdrew injured in the first session.
It seems to be in, then out…
“We just had an announcement in the press box that (Bonner) was ready to hit . . .”
“We look down there and we just got another announcement that the subconcussion has been activated and he’s not ready to bat!”
West Indies cricket confirm Shamarh Brooks, who is at the crease, replaces Bonner as concussion sub.
OUT OR NOT OUT? CONFUSION ACCEPTED DRS
Confusion has hit Perth with a controversial cancellation of an Australian port.
Jason Holder was initially LBW off a stunning delivery from Josh Hazlewood.
However, West Indies immediately contested the decision and were adamant that they were not out.
Early replays indicated there was no lead, with the ball falling to the back of Holder.
However, snicko showed a very small peak when the ball went past the bat. This was despite the fact that there seemed to be some daylight between the two.
Adding to the confusion, the hot spot showed no sign of contact with the bat.
The Australian players didn’t seem too impressed with the decision and approached field umpire Rod Tucker.
The stump mic took him saying, “It’s no use arguing with me, I gave it away.”
For Fox Cricket, Adam Gilchrist said:
“I thought about making that review decision, Jason Holder pointed to his leg indicating to his fellow batsman, almost saying, ‘You think that was too high?’ It hit me at a high point.
“There is a peak, but there is definitely a gap between the bat and the pad.
“I would have felt it hit his back leg.”
And just for an extra layer of intrigue, Tucker initially gave to Holder after the review before quickly reversing his decision.
WICKET: AUSSIES SMELL BLOOD IN THE WATER
Mitchell Starc follows suit from his skipper, demolishing new batsman Kyle Mayers (1) with a scorching delivery.
Mark Waugh praises Starc’s ability to identify and target his opponents’ weaknesses: “Always a danger ball, full and straight.”
“It didn’t look like Mayers was fully on and against Starc he will work on any weaknesses.
“114km/h right on target and suddenly the Aussies smell some blood in the water.”
West Indies have lost 2 from 7 since Kraigg Brathwaite’s dismissal.
Australia have a golden opportunity to bowl the tourists with plenty of time remaining in this session.
Former captain Jason Holder comes to the crease. The great all-rounder’s experience is West Indies’ last hope of posting a competitive total.
WICKET! CAPTAIN CUMMINS CHEATED 200
Pat Cummins takes his 200th wicket with an absolute peach.
The captain removes West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (64) with a replica of the delivery that removed Joe Root in the last Ashes series.
Cummins just has that knack of going right and hitting top off stump. Amazing delivery.
And with this wicket, Australia become the first Test team to field four players with 200 wickets. Could you argue that this is the biggest attack in Australia? The Fox Sports commentator thinks it’s very close.
• Pat Cummins 200 test ports
• Mitch Starc 287 Test wickets
• Josh Hazlewood 215 Test wickets
• Nathan Lyon 438 Test wickets
LUNCH: ANTILLES 1/150
This is lunch here at Perth Stadium and the honors for this session go to the tourists.
West Indies have moved to 1-150, an impressive effort given the tricky session they were forced to face last night.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite pushed past 50, eyeing his 11th international Test century.
The only negative of this session was that Nkrumah Bonner was forced to retire injured after being beaten by a Cam Green bouncer.
Australia’s lead remains at 448 runs. What will be in the stumps?
JUSTICE FOR JL’: SECURITY REMOVES THE PRO-LANGER FLAG
Optus Stadium security sources have confirmed they removed a Justin Langer protest sign on day three of the first Test due to its controversial nature.
A group of Perth teenagers have admitted surprise that stadium security found a ‘JUSTICE FOR JL’ sign they were displaying above the fence at the bottom of The Justin Langer Stand offensive enough to remove them on Friday .
Optus Stadium has claimed the sign was removed because it overlapped with commercial signage, but this claim was strongly denied by security sources who spoke to News Corp on condition of anonymity.
News Corp has been told that stadium control issued a message to security to remove the sign due to the nature of what was being displayed.
There is no doubt that the sign was a provocative message in the context of the controversial build-up to the Test, but it would be an exaggeration to say that it contravened Cricket Australia’s stipulated terms and conditions; “I will not wear or otherwise display offensive, political, religious, or commercial signage or logos.”
The teenagers at the fence said the sign was not there, but had been given to them by another patron to show them.
After security removed the sign, the boys began a “WE WANT JUSTICE” chant, followed by another “JUSTIN LANGER” chant.
However, the boys were not spoken to about anti-social behavior and in fact the bay was shouting support for the Aussie players on the field.
Teenagers News Corp spoke to were not upset by the poster’s removal and were happy to continue enjoying their day, but admitted they were surprised that the JUSTICE FOR JL message was deemed offensive.
The teenagers confirmed they had been told by security that the sign was being removed because of its message and denied Optus Stadium’s claim it was because it covered commercial signage.
The JUSTICE FOR JL offensive banner has been stored on the floor and is available for teenagers to pick up if they want to return it after the game.
Former players were bracing for the prospect of anti-social behavior from Perth fans towards players this week because of loyalty to local hero Langer.
However, there is no evidence of this and the players have been well supported.
BONNER RETIRES INJURED AFTER NICE COCK
Nkrumah Bonner retires wounded.
The details are still being worked out at this point, but the number three batsman took a nasty hit on the head in the first over from Cameron Green.
That was about 20 minutes ago, but at the drink break, he decided to retire.
It will be evaluated as the day progresses. If he is ruled out with concussion, a replacement can come in for him.
It looked great in the middle. This is a big blow for West Indies.
STATE OF PERFORMANCE: WEST INDIES 1/105
West Indies have done an excellent job of balancing things out after that first wicket.
Nkrumah Bonner had some difficult moments when he first walked into the crease but looked solid over the last 45 minutes.
He has moved to 13 and is setting the scoreboard very well.
Kraigg Brathwaite is the anchor at the other end of the crease, with his 30 runs coming off 110 balls.
It seems the West Indies plan is just to survive as much of today as possible.
THE AUSSIE ALLROUNDER WAVES
Australian star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has joined Glenn Maxwell in being ruled out for the entire BBL through injury.
Marsh has undergone ankle surgery to fix a long-standing problem and will miss three months of action, aiming to get fit in the build-up to this year’s 50-year-old World Cup coming.
Maxwell has been the biggest card in BBL history and Marsh another highlight and their losses are deep.
WICKET: HAZLEWOOD HANDS AUSSIES DREAM START
Talk about the perfect start.
Through the brilliance of Josh Hazlewood, Australia have a wicket in the first over with Tagenarine Chanderpaul caught at the crease for 51.
That was a serious finish.
Hazlewood hit the right length from the opening ball and had Chanderpaul playing and missing several times.
On the final delivery, he took the edge and Warner swallowed it at first slip.
A dream start for the Aussies and a disaster for the West Indies.
TURNING POINT THAT STARTED THE DECLINE OF INDULAS CRICKET
Robert Craddock
Former Test fast bowler Merv Hughes always likes to raise a smile with his work as a colorful guest speaker…except for one line.
When Hughes says that “the best team I faced was the West Indies,” he sometimes notices a smile or a chuckle in the room as if people thought it was a joke and were looking forward to the challenge.
But if you’re Hughes’s age (61) or older, there’s no punch line because back in the day the punches often flew like windmills in Australia’s direction.
There was little to smile about the brutal treatment meted out by the mighty West Indies teams of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, not just in Australia but around the world.
The smiles are likely to come from cricket fans under…