Five things we learned from day two

Shaun Marsh was the obvious star of day two in Antigua but plenty of other interesting subplots emerged ahead of next week’s opening Test.

Here’s what we learned.

Don't forget about Pete
The long list of quality fast-bowlers Australia have at its disposal means Victorian Peter Siddle has seemingly fallen down the pecking order over the past six months. But the 30-year-old gave a sharp reminder of what he can produce with an excellent spell on the morning of day two, taking advantage of the bounce on offer with the second new ball and netting two wickets. He first got one through the defences of Roston Chase on 76 before Jason Mohammad edged a lifting delivery to first slip for 55, giving the right-armer figures of 2-64 from 21 overs, including 20 off one over as Carlos Brathwaite opened his shoulders late in the innings. One delivery from Siddle early in the day lifted so dramatically off a length that it struck the bat loose from the hands of Mohammad, with the blade ending up flat on the pitch.

A shiny red cherry matters. Lots
The two wickets Siddle picked up this morning, and the two in two deliveries Mitchell Marsh took bowling in tandem with his older teammate, served as a reminder of how important the new ball will be on this tour. After Josh Hazlewood grabbed two early scalps on day one, Siddle and particularly Marsh got the ball to move considerably on the second morning, while Windies duo Miguel Cummins and Brathwaite also picked up a wicket apiece in the opening 10 overs of Australia's innings. "They swung it early doors and it was seaming around a bit," centurion Shaun Marsh said after play of the Windies bowlers. "I thought they bowled really well with the new ball (and) we had to work really hard. Once the new ball started to get a little bit older, it was quite easy to bat."

A wagging tail hurts
Australia would have been happy with their morning's work midway through the opening session, at one stage taking 4-10 to have the home side 9-324. But a 58-run partnership for the final wicket, of which just six came from the bat of No.11 Miguel Cummins, pushed the home side to a competitive 382, which looked even better at stumps with the Australians 6-205. Brathwaite was the key to the late onslaught, hitting the impressive Siddle for 20 off an over and also swinging hard at spinners Nathan Lyon and Fawad Ahmed to finish unbeaten with 50 from 42 balls.

Cummins good
Australian cricket has long been excited about the potential of young quick Patrick Cummins and the West Indies have a Cummins of their own who has all the assets to be a star on the international stage. The right-armer bowled with pace, bounce and significant movement early in Australia's innings, removing Chris Rogers and having Shaun Marsh dropped at gully. He also beat the bat of captain Michael Clarke twice when the skipper had just arrived at the crease in a fiery opening spell that proved why the 24-year-old Barbadian has an impressive first class average of 23 from 30 matches.

Carlos is a giant handful
With two members of this President's XI side set to be added to the West Indies Test squad on Friday, vice-captain Brathwaite did his chances of a call-up no harm with a standout all-round performance on day two. The 26-year-old, no relation to Windies opener Kraigg Brathwaite, blasted three fours and five sixes in an unbeaten 50 from just 42 balls in the morning session before removing Clarke and Mitchell Marsh with short deliveries either side of the tea break. Brathwaite was unable to impress in the four ODIs and two T20 internationals he's played for the Windies, but could find himself in the Test squad ahead of next week's match in Dominica.