Smith, Voges steer Australia towards 500

Smith and Adam Voges reached three figures in the middle session before the skipper finally ended the carnage.It is the first time that four Australian batsmen scored tons in a single test innings in Australia.

Steven Smith led Australia to 179 for 3, an overall lead of 459, with his virtuoso unbeaten run-a-ball 70. While 26-year-old Smith, the Australian captain, continues his magnificent form in Tests, 36-year-old Voges is enjoying a new lease of life by scoring centuries for fun.

West Indies would wait a further 69 overs to make another breakthrough as hope of turning fortunes around following their innings defeat in the first Test at Hobart disipated.

After Brathwaite was dismissed by Nathan Lyon (4-66) with the last ball before lunch, Bravo stubbornly anchored his team’s tail to restore some respectability to the score.

Australia hold a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, having thumped the visitors by an innings and 212 runs in Hobart.

Australia’s run gluttons feasted in unprecedented fashion but there was nothing but failure and frustration for West Indies on day two of the Boxing Day Test. Smith became the leading run-scorer in Tests this calendar year, while Voges moved past the 1000-run mark in his debut Test year and improved his career batting average against West Indies to 542.

West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika had done well to negotiate a nervous hour before tea but their hard work was undone straight after the break by Lyon.

The West Indian team was struggling very badly at the end of the day 2 as they were 91/6 in reply of 551/3 and were 460 runs behins. It was only on the stroke of lunch that the home side was able to strike, Lyon taking a return catch from Brathwaite while bowling around the wicket. West Indies (629), Pakistan (543), South Africa (501) complete the list with 500 or more hundreds. Brathwaite popped a catch to Joe Burns at short leg for 17 before Chandrika was trapped in front without playing a shot to James Pattinson for 25.

In his next over, Pattinson sent back the extraordinarily out of sorts Marlon Samuels, trapping him lbw to a reverse-swinging ball as well. Jermaine Blackwood had a successful review for a disputed low catch by Burns off paceman Peter Siddle when he was on 18.

Denesh Ramdin swiftly followed, caught by Burns off Siddle for a duck, and skipper Jason Holder followed him the next ball – bowled off-stump for a duck.

Smith hit eight boundaries in his 177-ball knock, while Voges smashed 12 fours from his 166 balls.