Five things we learned from day three

Starc + new ball + tail = wickets

Player-of-the-tournament in Australia's World Cup triumph, Mitchell Starc did his best to silence his Test doubters with a six-wicket haul in his first match of red-ball cricket for almost five months.

Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers across the three days, finishing the match with 5-50 including 14 maidens, but there is no one better in the world than Starc when it comes to finishing off the tail with the new ball.

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Starc ripped through the West Indies tail // Getty Images

The left-armer sent down the ideal spell to the Windies lower order, bowling a full length and swinging the ball at pace to pick up three wickets in three overs to end the innings and finish with 6-76 for the match.

With the battle for selection in Australia's Ashes XI already fierce, Starc sent selectors a timely reminder of his quality with another eye-catching performance.

Poor patches continue to cost Windies dear

A collapse of 7-35 from the home side in the final session took some gloss off a determined showing from veteran Marlon Samuels and 23-year-old debutant Shane Dowrich, who defied eight Australian bowlers for one ball short of 50 overs in a gutsy partnership that ensured the match would go into a fourth innings.

But once the breakthrough came, the middle and lower order followed in rapid succession in a collapse similar to the one that restricted them to just 148 in the first innings.

The Windies were right in this match when they had Australia six down early on the second morning, but a disappointing bowling performance to the tail and the batting after tea today ensured a comfortable win for the Aussies.

Lyon on the verge of history

Still six months shy of his 28th birthday, Nathan Lyon seems all but certain to become the most prolific Australian off-spinner in Test history in Jamaica next week.

Lyon took his 140th and 141st Test wickets on day three to draw level with Hugh Trumble, who has held the mantle as Australia's most successful offie for 111 years.

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Lyon celebrates a wicket with teammates // Getty Images

Lyon found the going tough at times today on a wicket that was slow but offered significant turn. Steve Smith couldn't quite react quick enough to a difficult chance at short leg and an inside edge or glove fell just out of reach on more than one occasion.

But he fought back well, benefitting from a brain snap by Jermaine Blackwood before he ripped an off-break through an ill-advised attempted cut shot from Denesh Ramdin.

Brad Haddin: reflexes too quick at 37

The Australians were left to lament the sharp reflexes of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin just before the lunch break when they appealed unsuccessfully for the stumping of Marlon Samuels.

Keeping up to the stumps to Shane Watson, Haddin removed the bails in a flash and appealed when Samuels shouldered arms to a ball outside off stump.

But the keeper's work was so fast that by the time Samuels had leant forward and briefly lifted his back foot from the ground, the bails had already been removed and the batsman survived.

Patience was the key on this wicket

Samuels and Dowrich, like Adam Voges before them, were the only men to show the value of patience on a slow surface that was difficult to score on early but easier to handle once the batsman was set.

The duo scored just 19 runs off the bat in the first 15 overs of their partnership before they accelerated just before the lunch break and continued until Dowrich departed just 10 minutes prior to tea.

Voges had started similarly on day two, scoring just 25 runs in the morning session as Devendra Bishoo cut a swathe through the middle order.

Video: Voges's brilliant debut century 

But Voges looked almost unstoppable once he got used to the conditions as he peeled off a historic and match-winning century.