Day three as it happened
If ever holding a lead of 459 over an opponent with two days remaining was not a cause for immediate celebration it was on Monday for Australia, after the West Indies enjoyed their least-worst day of the series.
Had James Pattinson not overstepped when rattling the stumps of Carlos Brathwaite in the fourth over of the day, which would have left the visitors at 7-102, the prospect of enforcing the follow-on for the second time in the Frank Worrell Trophy series would have been strong. 
That he did overstep, as detected by the video umpire in the now-customary review after a wicket has fallen, was punished by the West Indies as they batted for another 53 overs after that, in front of 26,003 at the MCG, to ensure the match went into a fourth day.
They were eventually dismissed at tea, for 271. Even though Australia could arguably have afforded to enforce the follow-on from a runs perspective - they led by 280 - what was of more significance was the unexpectedly high workload of the bowlers, especially given the small gap between the Melbourne and Sydney Tests.
When Australia batted again their openers, Joe Burns and David Warner, produced only 22 runs between them. Brisk half-centuries from Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith meant those earlier failures were of no consequence, because the innings did not get bogged down thereafter.
The home side finished day three at 3-179, with captain Smith having produced a run-a-ball 70 and Mitch Marsh on 18.
In Hobart, Darren Bravo earned admiration for the style with which he compiled a century. In this Test he showed another facet to his talent: concentration. Bravo instead prioritised survival, reflected in it taking him 103 deliveries to score his first boundary. There was nothing to show that wait bothered him.
Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite came within three deliveries of surviving the entire first session. Given in their preceding two full sessions, in Melbourne and Hobart, the West Indies had shed a combined 14 wickets that represented a major improvement.
In the field, Brathwaite was outshone only by his captain Jason Holder. With the bat he was just as impressive. The 27-year-old made few errors in his 130-minute innings, and the first two went unpunished because the bowler, Pattinson, made an even bigger blunder by failing to get any of his foot behind the crease in his delivery stride.
Brathwaite commendably learned his lesson from being bowled on 13 when playing an ugly swipe at Pattinson. Thereafter, he was still willing to hit lustily but was more careful in choosing when to attempt it.
Even though Brathwaite arrived at the crease 25 overs latter than Bravo he beat his partner to a half-century, by 20 overs.
Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle bowled accurately but posed few worries for Bravo and Brathwaite. For wickets, Australia therefore had to rely on Lyon, who consistently mounted pressure on the batsmen, and Pattinson, who proved dangerous when he got it right.
Pattinson was given a field to bounce out Brathwaite and seemingly did so successfully, until it was shown he had overstepped by even more than he had earlier. The latter cost only another six runs as Lyon struck in the last over before tea.
When the West Indies batted well into the second session Smith took the second new ball as soon as he could. Being a Victorian did not save Pattinson from Bronx cheers when, with his third attempt for the day, took a wicket while his foot was safely behind the crease.
Having chosen to bat a second time, Australia lost both openers to the new ball. The wicket of Warner was celebrated with particularly vigour given the niggle that was evident between him and some of the West Indies bowlers. Significantly for the visitors, those who stood up to him were not veteran Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach but instead Holder and Brathwaite.
Roach, whose first three deliveries on day one were dispatched to the boundary, was bypassed for the new ball. He was given only four overs on Monday, and his inability to strike in them took his series record to 0-209 from 37 overs. It would be of no surprise if he were dropped for the final Test in favour of the uncapped Miguel Cummins.
No.3 batsman Khawaja needed just 56 deliveries to reach his half-century. His departure soon after that, attempting a Twenty20-style flick over the wicketkeeper, showed he was prioritising the team's desire for quick runs.
Marsh was promoted, probably for a combination of Smith wanting quick runs and a desire to get him some much-needed time in the middle. But in his half-hour at the crease to end day three he had to play second fiddle to Smith, who coasted to and beyond his half-century late in the day.