Led by purposeful fast bowling from Jason Gillespie, who snared three scalps, Australia reduced the West Indies to 291 for eight in response to their imposing 605 for nine declared, at the close of the third day of the third Cable and Wireless Test here yesterday.

With another 115 runs required to avoid being asked to follow-on and only the three fast bowlers Vasbert Drakes (2 not out), Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson left, it is almost inevitable that the West Indies will be starting their second innings before lunch on today’s fourth day.

By then, they will be hoping that captain Brian Lara, with a night's rest, would have sufficiently recovered from his illness to take his No.4 position in the batting order.

If he doesn't, the West Indies, already 2-0 down in the four-match Test series, will find themselves in the embarrassing position of trying to avoid crashing to the first ever clean sweep at the hands of a visiting team.

Lara, on whom so much rested following his two centuries and 91 in the first two Tests, spent the pre- and post-lunch sessions at the team’s hotel resting.

He ended up batting at No.8 on his arrival at the ground but by then, the West Indies, following Gayle’s stroke-filled 71 and Smith’s solid 59, had slumped from the encouraging 139 without loss to 245 for six.

Lara spent 79 painstaking minutes and 55 balls over a dogged 14 runs before Indian umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan quickly raised his finger for a leg-before-wicket verdict to the hard-working Andy Bichel.

Lara seemed to suggest there was an inside edge before the ball hit his pads by raising his bat but the television replays were inconclusive.

The West Indies’ decline, even if not as dramatic followed a similar script to the last day of the second Test in Trinidad and Tobago. This time, they crumbled from an encouraging position after starting the day on 89 without loss.

Gayle was in a nice groove as he executed a volley of elegant cover drives against leg-spinner Stuart MacGill. He seemed set for a century on his return to the side after being controversially omitted for the first two Tests when a peach of a leg-cutter from Gillespie, clipped the off-stump.

Gayle’s knock was embellished by 12 fours off 155 balls in 189 minutes.

Smith also played a number of handsome cover drives off MacGill and pacer Brett Lee before he became Gillespie’s second victim in his next over for a well-played half-century.

Smith’s downfall came when Gillespie induced him to edge an outswinger to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, ending a promising knock, which was laced with nine fours off 139 balls in 199 minutes at the crease.

The West Indies went to lunch on 149 for two with Daren Ganga and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan both on one.

On resumption, the West Indies, who scored only 60 runs off 29 overs before lunch, again made similar progress with another 61 runs coming off the same number of overs.

Both Sarwan and Ganga batted sensibly and solidly in gathering 63 runs for the third wicket before two horrible shots to balls of no merit, compounded the Windies’ woes.

Ganga’s game knock came to a disappointing end when part-time left-arm spinner Darren Lehmann, like he did in the first Test in Guyana, teased him into indiscretion.

The chubby Lehmann served up a waist-high full toss and Ganga could not resist the temptation and hit it straight into the hands of Andy Bichel at mid-on.

A clear sign of Ganga’s grit was seen by stats of 130 minutes and 89 balls for his 26, which included just two fours.

Five balls later, new batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued the calamity when he got a rank long hop from MacGill, first ball.

Chanderpaul’s eyes opened wide at the invitation but on the slow track, when he did not take the time to assess, he badly mishit his pull and the ball spooned into the air for Lee to run back from midwicket and pouch the catch above his head.

This dismissal brought debutant Omari Banks to the crease and he stayed with Sarwan in taking the West Indies to tea at 210 for four.

Banks, the first cricketer from Anguilla to play for the West Indies, hit four fours in a cameo knock of 24, including two off successive deliveries from MacGill.

Banks also drove Lee through mid-off for four but his encouraging first knock at this level was brought to a close when he snicked Gillespie to second slip where Ponting held the catch.

Lara finally came out to bat but was clearly feeling the effects of his illness, a day after his 34th birthday even though he and wicket- keeper Carlton Baugh added 36 runs for the seventh wicket.

After Lara’s dismissal, MacGill ended a disappointing day for the West Indies by having Baugh caught off bat and pad by Ponting at silly mid-off for 24 as he lunged forward.

MacGill, who started the attack and even had the pleasure of using the second new ball with Lee, ended the day with two wickets for 95 runs off 31.2 overs.

Gillespie was the most impressive however with three for 31 off 21 probing overs.

AUSTRALIA 1st innings 605-6 decl’d
West Indies 1st innings (o/n 89-0)

C.Gayle b Gillespie 71

D.Smith c wkp. Gilchrist b Gillespie 59

D.Ganga c Bichel b Lehmann 26

R.Sarwan c wkp. Gilchrist b Lee 40

S.Chanderpaul c Lee b MacGill 0

O.Banks c Ponting b Gillespie 24

C.Baugh c Ponting b MacGill 24

B.Lara lbw b Bichel 14

V.Drakes not out 2

Extras: (b-6, lb-12, nb-11) 29

Total (8 wickets, 112.2 overs) 291

Fall of wickets: 1-139, 2-142, 3-205, 4-206, 5-245, 6-245, 7-281, 8-291.