Australia is three wickets away from retaining the Frank Worrell Trophy following a successful morning on day five of the series opener against the West Indies at Perth Stadium.
After resuming at 192/3 on Sunday morning in pursuit of a 498-run target, the West Indies lost four wickets before the lunch to put themselves on the verge of defeat.
Nathan Lyon was the chief destroyer in the morning session with two scalps, including the crucial dismissal of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, whose masterclass ended on 110.
The West Indies are 7/257 at stumps.
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Earlier, Australia may have missed an opportunity to remove Kyle Mayers during the second over of the day, with an apparent inside edge going unnoticed.
Lyon appealed for an LBW chance on his first delivery on Sunday, with the fielder at bat pad taking the catch.
Hotspot replays suggested the ball may have caught the inside edge of Mayers’ bat, however the speck may have come from the willow grazing his pad.
Regardless, Lyon didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough, dismissing Mayers with an outside edge a couple of over later that was caught by Steve Smith at second slip.
It marks the 51st time Smith has taken a catch off Lyon’s bowling in Tests, making them the equal most prolific non-wicketkeeper pairing for Australia, alongside Shane Warne and Mark Taylor.
Lyon now has 443 Test wickets to his name, pushing himself above Indian tweaker Ravichandran Ashwin on the all-time list.
Smith’s heroics were far from over, taking a superb catch at first slip to give Travis Head his first Test wicket on Australian soil.
Jason Holder chased after a wide delivery from Head, with the outside edge evading Alex Carey before Smith dived to his left and claimed the chance, throwing his legs in the air for good measure.
After Australia took the second new ball, Josh Hazlewood snared his first wicket of the second innings, with Joshua Da Silva edging towards the slip cordon for 12.
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The Australian bowling attack took the field on Sunday morning alongside Pat Cummins, who was battling a quad complaint.
Speaking on Fox Sports News, presenter Kath Loughnan confirmed that Cummins would be permitted to bowl early in the morning session on Sunday, but Australia is hoping he won’t be required as the captain continues to recover from the minor injury.
“Pat Cummins is good to go, he will lead the team out this morning,” she said.
“However, he won’t bowl to begin with in the hope that others snare some early wickets.
“The 14 months ahead is such a hugely important and hectic time on the cricket calendar. They need and firing Pat Cummins.”
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