Smith and Green rise to the occasion as Australia pile pressure on West Indies
Australia's top order has been the subject of enough scrutiny and ridicule on this West Indies tour that it was time for two players at very different stages of their career to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.
By tea on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST) at Grenada's National Cricket Stadium, Australia had rallied from 2-4 late on day two to 4-175, with a 208-run lead, thanks to potentially match-defining contributions from Green (52) and Smith (70 not out).
Their hard-fought partnership of 93 runs was the highest they've shared in Tests and surpassed their previous best of 81 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022.
Smith, who was Australia's lowest scorer in the first innings with three runs, seemed unperturbed by the finger injury that sidelined him in Bridgetown. He was hit on the same hand early in his innings but put up with the pain and stuck to the task.
Green, meanwhile, answered any lingering doubts about his credentials at No.3 with a string of crisp cut shots, each one crashing to the boundary like a bullet from the bat.
Their mature approach on day three was a welcome relief in the Australian dressing room where middle-order batsmen have found themselves racing to get the pads on during a tour of top-order collapses.
At times, the Grenada pitch was as volatile as the Caribbean island's weather, which halted play several times throughout the morning.
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