May 20, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

TRELAWNY (Jamaica), May 19: Heavy rain prevented Australia from completing victory, after Simon Katich enhanced his claims for a place in the opening Test against West Indies, when he helped them into a match-winning position on the third and final day of their tour match against Jamaica which ended in a draw on Sunday.

Katich collected four wickets for 15 runs from 5.2 overs, and leg-spin bowler Stuart MacGill took three for 50 from 14 overs to prove that he was clearly back to full fitness, as Australia dismissed Jamaica for 194 in their second innings.

Set 96 to win, the Aussies were coasting to victory on 65 for one, when rain about 1-1/2 hours prior to the close prompted an early close to the match being contested at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium on the north-coast of the island.

Katich, angling for the place in the line-up left vacant by vice-captain Michael Clarke’s delayed departure from Australia, hit the top score of 97 on Saturday in the visitors’ first innings total of 396.

He followed up when he ran through the tail-end of the Jamaica batting with the scalps of Carlton Baugh Jr, Nikita Miller, Andre Russell and Gavin Wallace bowling his left-arm wrist spin when the home team batted a second time.

When the rains arrived, Katich was 37 not out in the Aussies’ second innings, and clearly settling the discussion about who would replace Clarke in the middle-order for the Test starting on Thursday at Sabina Park in the Jamaican capital.

Ironically, Katich’s previous Test was almost 2-1/2 years ago against the same opponents at Brisbane.

This was Australia’s only practice match prior to next week’s opening Test of three.

Scoreboard

JAMAICA (1st Innings) 297 (C.S. Baugh 111 not out; S.C.G. McGill 4-79).

AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 396 ((S.M. Katich 97, A. Symonds 86, B.J. Haddin 64; D.L. Sinclair 3-14).

JAMAICA (2nd Innings, overnight 11-0):

B.A. Parchment c and b Johnson 4

S. Jackson b MacGill 16

X.M. Marshall lbw b Lee 31

S.E. Findlay c Symonds b MacGill 6

L.T. Ingram b MacGill 18

D.L. Sinclair lbw b Clark 4

C.S. Baugh c MacGill b Katich 36

N.O. Miller c Hodge b Katich 13

A.D. Russell lbw b Katich 25

G. Wallace c MacGill b Katich 3

N. McNally not out 2

EXTRAS (B-15, LB-7, NB-14) 36

TOTAL (all out, 58.2 overs) 194

FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-63, 3-69, 4-77, 5-103, 6-112, 7-150, 8-168, 9-172.

BOWLING: Lee 13-4-33-1 (5nb); Johnson 12-3-30-1 (6nb); Clark 7-1-36-1; Symonds 3-0-8-0; McGill 14-1-50-3 (2nb); Katich 5.2-0-15-4.

AUSTRALIA (2nd Innings):

P.A. Jaques lbw b Russell 2

S.M. Katich not out 37

R.T. Ponting not out 20

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-2) 6

TOTAL (for one wkt, 13.3 overs) 65

FALL OF WKT: 1-23.

BOWLING: Russell 7-0-25-1 (2nb); McNally 6.4-0-36-0.

RESULT: Match drawn.

UMPIRES: V.G. Johnson and N. Malcolm.

—AFP