Veteran Adam Voges has become the 20th Australian to score a Test century on debut to put the tourists in charge of the first Test against the West Indies.
The 35-year-old played a lone hand with Australia’s tail to lift the tourists to 9-280 at tea on day two at Windsor Park.
At the break Voges was unbeaten on 114 with No.11 Josh Hazlewood (17no) alongside him.
The West Australian is the first man to score a hundred on Test debut since his state teammate Shaun Marsh’s 141 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2011.
Voges reached the milestone with a push to the leg-side, raising both arms aloft in victory as he realised he’d made the mark.
Voges was dropped twice on his way to 100, at 57 and 87, but both were tough chances.
Other than that his innings was a study in patience and timing, hitting 12 fours and one six which took him to 98.
Apart from a personal achievement, Voges’ knock was also important on a day where Australia had earlier collapsed to 6-126.
The right-hander shared stands of 52, 43 and then an unbeaten 59 with tail-enders Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon and Hazlewood to put Australia back on top.
Earlier, Windies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo threatened to put the hosts back into the contest with a cracking spell in the morning session.
Bishoo claimed 3-25 in nine overs as Australia slumped to 6-126 from their overnight score of 3-85.
Wickets of Steve Smith (25) and Shane Watson (11) were followed by a classic delivery to remove Brad Haddin (8)
Bishoo evoked the memory of Shane Warne’s “ball of the century” 22 years to the day after the Australian champion bamboozled England’s Mike Gatting.
Haddin was left hapless as Bishoo’s leg-break pitched on leg-stump, fizzed past his bat and crashed into the top of off stump.
The 29-year-old completed his five-wicket haul with the wicket of Johnson (20) after lunch and then secured his 50th Test scalp – just the second West Indian leg-spinner to achieve that mark – when he bowled Mitchell Starc (0) two balls later.
At that point, the Windies would still have held out hope of facing a deficit under 50 runs but Lyon (22) and then Hazlewood provided the support Voges needed to reach his century.
