New boy Barath fights lone battle

Leap of faith: Adrian Barath marks his Test debut with a superb century to justify his inclusion in the Windies side

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Australia recorded an innings-and-65-run win inside three days of the opening Test at the Gabba, but West Indies unearthed a star of the future as opener Adrian Barath hit a record-breaking debut century.

Barath, 19, overtook George Headley as the youngest West Indian to score a Test hundred, and also became the youngest man to reach three figures against Australia since India prodigy Sachin Tendulkar almost 18 years ago.

But he received little support, with the Windies crashing to 187 all out in their second innings, handing Australia a comprehensive victory after captain Ricky Ponting enforced the follow-on.

Ben Hilfenhaus returned figures of 3-20 from his seven-over opening spell, but it was left to all-rounder Shane Watson to finally remove Barath for 104.

Hilfenhaus’ efforts - he boasted match figures of 5-70 - earned him the match award, but there was no doubting the day belonged to the debutant, who crafted the only century of the match in some style.

Barath’s impressive innings, which spanned just under three hours and included 19 fours and a mere five singles, served to prop up the tourists’ second innings.

The next highest score was Dwayne Bravo’s 23, while Denesh Ramdin and Sulieman Benn were the only other batsmen to make it into double figures on a day that saw West Indies lose 15 wickets.

Australia claimed five in the opening session to dismiss the tourists for 228 in their first innings and, after some deliberation, Ponting asked them to bat again, only the third time he has enforced the follow-on during his tenure as captain.

In a repeat of the first innings, West Indies' Chris Gayle is lbw to man-of-the-match Ben Hilfenhaus, who returned figures of 3-20

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Trailing by 252 after the first innings, West Indies’ hopes of saving the game were left in tatters as they slipped to 39 for three.

Hilfenhaus wreaked havoc with the new ball, pinning Chris Gayle lbw with an inswinger before bowling Travis Dowlin and having Shivnarine Chanderpaul taken at square-leg as he attempted to pull.

Barath fought back, but the dismissal of Bravo - caught at deep square-leg off the part-time medium pace of Mike Hussey - shortly before tea broke a fourth-wicket stand of 66 and revived Australia’s hopes of wrapping up victory inside three days.

Former Queensland batsman Brendan Nash, one of four ex-Bulls playing in the game, departed soon after tea when former team-mate Nathan Hauritz trapped him lbw.

Barath revelled in his one-man mission to resurrect West Indies and celebrated bringing up his hundred with a four off Watson by leaping high in the air and hugging former schoolmate Ramdin.

Watson, however, had leg before two overs later, and Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Ramdin and Ravi Rampaul fell in quick succession as West Indies slipped to a ninth consecutive Test defeat on Australian soil.