SYDNEY: West Indies lost two quick wickets after lunch to fall to 115 for three before rain wiped out the remainder of the second session of the opening day of the dead rubber third test against Australia on Sunday.

The tourists, 2-0 down in the three-match series, had won the toss and made a solid start to their innings with Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo steering them to 92 for one at lunch.

Australia quick James Pattinson dismissed Bravo for 33 shortly after the break, however, and Marlon Samuels followed, run out in farcical fashion for four, before rain stopped play 37 minutes into the session.

There was some sign of a break in the rain clouds sweeping in from the nearby Pacific Ocean when the scheduled tea break was taken but it looked like Brathwaite would still have plenty of time to rest up before resuming his innings on 66 not out.

After the early loss of opener Shai Hope, Brathwaite and Bravo (33) put together a 91-run stand for the second wicket that built on an improved West Indies batting performance in Melbourne last week.

Australia's bowlers had emerged from lunch re-energised, however, and Pattinson reaped the rewards in the third over when Bravo's miscued attempt to pull a short delivery sent the ball flying to Usman Khawaja running in from the deep.

That brought Samuels to the crease in a failed attempt to breaking a run of eight test innings without getting over the 20-run mark.

His demise came when he went looking for a quick single that always looked like a gamble and he was left stranded when Brathwaite, who had abandoned his bat, scuttled back to his crease.

After a long glare at his batting partner, Samuels headed back to the pavilion with the rest of the players following in his wake as rain poured down on the ground.

Hope, brought into the side for Rajenda Chandrika when the opener suffered a groin strain in the warm-up, lasted just 17 balls of the morning before nicking a Josh Hazlewood delivery behind to Peter Nevill.

Brathwaite brought up his eighth test half-century just before lunch by clipping all-rounder Mitchell Marsh past long leg for two runs off the 78th ball he faced.