The 2nd test match between West Indies and Australia is officially over, as there is only one matchup in this format between these teams. On a day when Australia sealed the deal, they came out victorious by 133 runs and looked like a top-tier squad once more. Having already won the first one, this solidifies their test series victory against the West Indies, and they are now leading 2-0.
As many had stated that this side had lost their class and were in a world of trouble prior to these matches, they are now just a couple of skillful batsmen away from getting back to their normal ways and sit atop the World Test Championship rankings.
Meanwhile, West Indies are once again in a multitude of issues as seen throughout this match, with not sufficient enough all-rounders or batsmen. A group that was in hopes of making a comeback and dominating test cricket, this has been a very rough start despite having much improved their bowling.
Now that the West Indies are starting 0-2 in the World Test Championship format matches, it may mean they have a near-bottom finish again. This match proved that wholesale changes needed to be made because it didn’t prove that many West Indies players were playing to win, except the bowlers. With that being said, below are the key moments and their analysis after each of the four days went by.
Middle-Order Carried A Heavy Load on Day 1
As Australia were batting first in this match, their start during day one was pretty slow and nerve-wracking. Being 50/3 at one point, openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja fell after an early 47-run partnership. But, that was not the only issue, as the extremely consistent Steve Smith got out in the blink of an eye.
On that day, both Cameron Green plus Travis Head also failed to cross 30 and really put this side back against the wall after being 110 for 5 wickets lost. But instead of giving up there, Australia fought back in their average ways and pretty easily got past 220 with half-centuries from both Alex Carey plus Beau Webster.
With Carey hitting a total of 11 boundaries, he really showed the urge and intent to attack so that he could put up 63 runs in quick succession. As Pat Cummins came in to give a solid 17-run knock, it really gave Australia a comfortable 286 score to defend for the next day.
Meanwhile, the West Indies bowling attack did a terrific job of creating pressure that day as well, with Alzarri Joseph having one of his most impactful performances. Picking up four wickets on the day, the speed and accuracy he bowled with on that day were terrific to accompany Jayden Seals, 2 for 45 in 13 overs, volatile pace deliveries, plus Shamar Joseph’s wicket-taking ability.
West Indies Had An Up-and-Down on Day 2
Seeing that the second day started with West Indies batting first, their start to the day was nothing to remember at all. Despite coach Darren Sammy showing all the confidence in the world for his batters, they managed to get out for 253. Opener Kraigg Braithwaite had continued to struggle up front and couldn’t reach his massive milestone once again due to getting out at 0 for just 8 balls.
Keacy Carty’s test playing issues also remained after he was caught-and-bowled by Pat Cummins, while captain Roston Chase couldn’t find any rhythm before an LBW got him out from Josh Hazelwood’s bowling. With all-rounder Justin Greaves also not providing much, there were still a few bright spots in this batting lineup.
One guy who shone on day two was Brandon King after a 75-run knock and his first-ever half-century in test match cricket. Newcomer John Campbell also had a knock of 40, but outside of these two, and Shamar Joseph scored another 29 runs towards the backend, the rest of the order is still out of form.
When the Windies were batting, Australia’s main wicket-taker was Nathan Lyon, as he really did a good job of ending any partnerships and forcing West Indies batsmen to hit straight towards fielders. But, the positive came for the Windies towards the end of this day, as Jayden Seales was able to get both Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja out before day’s end.
The Aussies Fought Back Hard On Day 3
Going into day three, Australia had a slight 45-run edge, but they had already lost two wickets and seemed like they were in a world of trouble again, similar to day one. In that stress, they decided to put Nathan Lyon up the order and make him create a partnership with Cameron Green as a tactic.
Although it looked as if it was going well, Lyon got out pretty quickly at 8 for 33, and his side was already 28/3. Just being 61 runs ahead of West Indies, this match’s real game-changing partnership was that of Cameron Green and Steve Smith. With that partnership going for 93 runs, Smith showed that he was still “Mr Consistent” and finished at 71 runs before getting to Justin Greaves.
Although Beau Webster couldn’t replicate his shot-hitting clinic from the first innings, as he finished with two runs, Travis Head did a lot of heavy lifting towards the second half of Australia’s innings. Hitting his classic boundaries with fierce determination and intellect on where the ball is going,
Head helped Australia go over 200 runs and gave them a lead of 235+ before heading into day four. Once again, though, West Indies managed to dominate towards the end like day two, where Shamar Joseph picked up 2 wickets in the span of 20 overs. Someone known as the Australian killer, he really instilled fear into the opposing batsmen with Jayden Seals.
Australia Assert Dominance Over West Indies
As day four was the time to close out this series, Australia did that and came out victorious against the West Indies once again. With the Aussies batting first, Shamar Joseph dominated their remaining batsman as he took another two wickets to complete his 4-wicket haul.
Taking out Pat Cummins first, he bowled a ripper that forced the Australian captain to edge right towards Shai Hope. Ending Alex Carey’s quick 30-run innings, it helped Alzarri Joseph to take the last required wicket and set a total of 276 for chasing.
A total that looked pretty chaseable, Australian bowlers had different plans and completely dominated this West Indies unit. Getting them all out for 143, a large part of this came from Mitchell Starc’s bowling prowess as he picked up three wickets. It was clear that he had a plan of attacking with quick pace and swing, which caused two LBWs against Justin Greaves, plus Roston Chase, who was at 34 runs.
Josh Hazelwood was really the one who got the wicket-taking party started as he took out John Campbell on a ball that attacked the middle of his legs, plus also getting the dangerous Shai Hope for just 17 runs. As the West Indies did get late run production from Shamar Joseph’s 24 and Anderson Philip scoring 11, Nathan Lyon cleaned them up for a three-wicket haul. This is all in addition to Pat Cummins also being a great seam bowler for 8 overs today.
Also Read: WI vs AUS: “Captaining The West Indies Is A Great Job”- Roston Chase Ready To Embrace Leadership