There were more smiling faces on the team bus tonight but behind those smiles is a wariness that we still have a lot of work to do to win this Test match. It wasn't that long ago that we had the West Indies in a much more precarious position than we have them at stumps today. Overnight in Jamaica the West Indies were reeling at 4 for 30 and facing what looked like certain defeat.

As we all know, history tells us that they fought back and ended up humiliating us with a 10-wicket defeat. So, even though we are in a great position tonight we have learned not to take anything for granted and you can be assured that we will be coming out with full throttles in the morning. Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie were again fantastic in the final session this afternoon. They are both bowling with genuine pace on a pitch that is a pretty good batting surface. Brian Lara's dismissal, to a bouncer that is as good as you will see, was especially pleasing for the good guys tonight.

Steve Waugh was unfortunate not to have notched up his second Test double-century but in the end of the day what an innings it was. He is close to being titled a master of this game. Any man who averages around 70 in the last five years of Test cricket must be close to mastering the game. He would be upset if he heard me saying that because I know he will be the first to tell me that as soon as you think you have it mastered it will always come back and bite you in the backside. He is an outstanding ambassador to Australian cricket who truly deserves the highest possible accolade of being the Australian cricket captain.

Tugga's partner in crime while we were batting was Ricky Ponting. His third Test century was a timely one as only three days ago he was probably never expecting to play in this Test. In a marvellous display of skill and temperament 'Punter' has grasped a massive opportunity that may well prove to be a significant milestone in his career. He and the captain led us to a formidable first innings total of 490, one that will seem daunting to the West Indian batting line-up.

Off cricket, and one of the hardest parts of playing cricket for Australia is leaving your family for extended periods of time. Today my eldest daughter turned two years old and you can take it from me it is hard work not being there to share the moment with her. Lucky we have had two good days on the cricket field to keep our minds off far away places.

From Barbados, JL