Following is what the Australian press had to say after the third day of the first Test between West Indies and Australia:

JAMIE PANDARAM, Sydney Morning Herald: ’Michael Hussey claimed a wicket, Shane Watson was on a hat-trick. This summer will be defined by the comical, not the competitive, as the once-proud West Indies slumped to abject defeat at the Gabba yesterday. In three days any disillusioned notion of fight in the opposition was strangled to lifelessness, and two more Tests people are supposed to care about remain.’

CHLOE SALTAU, Melbourne Age: ’Amid gloomy predictions for the West Indies and Test cricket, Adrian Barath shone as brightly as the silver braces on his teeth. Barath, 19, stood much taller than his 162 centimetres at the Gabba yesterday, becoming the youngest West Indian to strike a Test century while his more experienced teammates capitulated against Australia. His outstanding 104 on debut provided a rare glimmer of hope from a generation obsessed with Twenty20 and a region where Test cricket is gasping for oxygen.’

JIM MORTON, Sunday Telegraph, Sydney: ’Trinidad teenager Adrian Barath wears braces, stands just at five foot four and looks like he should still be in school. But the 19-year-old Test debutant stood taller than any of his bigger, more experienced teammates in unleashing a bold 104 as the West Indies went down in a heap at the Gabba.’

PETER ROEBUCK, Sydney Morning Herald: ’Over the past three days Chris Gayle, Travis Dowlin and Adrian Barath--the hare, the tortoise and the colt--displayed the best and worst of West Indian cricket. Gayle once again betrayed his position and his talent with a craven and idle performance ill-befitting any Test batsman, let alone an opener and leader called upon to bind together a group of disparate islands. Although half the player, Dowlin fought with every power at his disposal to keep his wicket intact and improve his team’s position. Barath pointed the way forward with an innings of skill and spirit, a combination thin on the ground in this line-up.’

BEN DORRIES, Courier-Mail, Brisbane: ’This Test summer should be cancelled and all tickets refunded. Not even a stunning debut century from a rookie teenage batsman could save the West Indies from the realisation their Test cricket has become a complete and utter joke. The mauling inside three days at the Gabba might have been good for Australia’s confidence but it did nothing for 10,490 Gabba fans who know this series will be a walk in the park for Australia.’

ROBERT CRADDOCK, Courier-Mail, Brisbane: ’Five years ago when Australia decided it was time to cut down the size of Test series against the West Indies from five to three matches, some stalwarts were seriously offended. Now the West Indies are so pathetic the key issue now is how on earth can anybody be expected to maintain interest in this dog-eared series for two more Tests. And then five one-dayers. If the West Indies don’t improve--they have been dreadful for a decade--there is no way Australia should not be so gracious towards them in the future. Test cricket is battling for survival. You just cannot afford to clog up a summer with such cringingly bad fare.’