Sabina Park, Kingston Jamaica, dished out a bowler-friendly pitch for this historic Pink Ball Test match between West Indies and Australia. Shamar Joseph starred with the ball on another bowler’s paradise as Australia were restricted to 225 in the first innings after the visitors won another toss and elected to bat. In reply, the West Indies are 16/1 in 9 overs with Kevlon Anderson the man out. Brandon King and Roston Chase are at the crease.
Riding on a couple of 40s from Steve Smith and Cameron Green alongside a few cameos down the order, Australia posted 225 with Shamar Joseph leading the way for West Indies with figures of 4/33 in 17.3 overs. He was ably supported by Jayden Seales (3/59) and Justin Greaves (3/56) as the Aussies were bundled out for 225. In reply, West Indies lost make-shift opener Kevlon Anderson for 3 to Mitchell Starc. Brandon King (8*) and captain Roston Chase (3*) are at the crease and will resume on Day 2.
Pitch Report and Playing XIS:Â
“We are here at the Sabina Park, the pitch here is a layer of grass. But what we can expect is the continued dominance of the ball over the bat, as we have seen in the series. There is good grass, the bowlers will find good rhythm but the batters are expected to do slightly better compared to other two games. Time will tell, it is hot here, and hopefully we will have a cracking Test match,” reckons Jimmy Adams in his pitch report.Â
Playing XIS:
Australia: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland.
West Indies: Mikyle Louis, John Campbell, Kevlon Anderson, Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Roston Chase (c), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.
Usman Khawaja & Cameron Green play out an attritional first session
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Australia got off to a slow start under challenging conditions and tight disciplined West Indies bowling. The duo of Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja played out some nervy moments as West Indies dropped another catch in the slip cordon. They managed to play out the first hour but could not last long as Konstas fell to Justin Greaves as he was trapped plumb in front and the opener burnt the review as well. Australia were 28/1 in the 17th over when Cameron Green walked to the crease.
Green got a boundary early on, but was largely circumspect in his approach. Some anxious and nervous moments followed as the ball was moving a lot with the pink ball. Khawaja looked well settled at the crease while Green survived a LBW call by successfully reviewing via DRS and reversing the call. They played out the remaining overs by not scoring as such as Australia went into the first break which is Tea at 50/1 after 25 overs. Usman Khawaja was batting on 16* off 71 balls while Cameron Green was with him on 6* off 31 balls. This break was for 20 minutes.
Cameron Green & Steven Smith lay the platform for Australia after Khawaja dismissal;
Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green resumed for Australia after the Tea Break and runs came at a lower rate. From time to time, the batters got boundaries as the batters played according to the merit of the ball. Green started to get into the groove while Khawaja hung about. But West Indies soon found their breakthrough via Shamar Joseph. A brilliant catch by keeper batter Shai Hope as well.
It was a good length delivery at fourth-fifth stump swinging away, Usman pushed at it loosely and got the outside edge where Hope takes a stunning catch diving to his left. Australia were 68/2 in the 32nd over when Steve Smith came to the crease.
The duo of Smith and Green weathered the early storm and tried to put on a partnership to put Australia on the right track for a big score. They were largely in control although there were some nervy moments out there as they played according to the merit of the ball. Smith took a liking to Greaves in the 37th over hitting three boundaries in a row.
Soon the 100 came for Australia in the 39th over after Drinks and the visitors looked good at this stage. The spinners Chase and Warrican bowled in tandem but got no success at all as Australia played them with ease. The 50-run stand was up between Smith and Green as well.
West Indies’ regular opener Mikyle Louis jarred his knee while fielding and had to walk off the field in this session. He was struggling to get to his feet. Soon, the partnership was broken as Jayden Seales provided the breakthrough. He set up the batter by bowling an away going delivery previous ball and got this ball to angle back in and straighten a bit. It was fuller in length, Green looked to play the angle and got beaten as the ball crashed into the top of off-stump. Green fell for 46 Australia were now 129/3 in 49 overs with Travis Head joining Steve Smith in the middle.
The duo made sure there were no more hiccups before the Dinner Break as they played to the merit of the ball with Smith getting a boundary to his name. In the end, Dinner Break came with Australia at 138/3 in 52 overs. Steve Smith was batting on 36* off 54 balls while Travis Head had just joined him on 3* off 11 balls.
Australia collapses after the Break; West Indies lose 1 before Stumps
The final session of the day began with Steve Smith and Travis Head hitting boundaries off the first over bowled by Jayden Seales. Travis Head was hit on the finger by Shamar Joseph but he withstood it all. Steven Smith got an edgy boundary through the slips of Seales.
But Shamar Joseph once again stood up and got the big fish of Steven Smith for 48. Fuller length delivery angling away outside off, Smith flirts with it and throws his hands at it and gets the outside edge through to Brandon King who took a sharp catch. Big moment in the game as Australia were 157/4 in 56 overs with Beau Webster joining Travis Head in the middle. This wicket of Smith started the collapse as the Aussies lost wickets at regular intervals from hereon.
Beau Webster did not last long on this occasion as Shamar Joseph was breathing fire. It was a probing line from Joseph who made the batter play at it. It was a back of a length delivery shaping in from outside off straightening after pitching. The batter hopped on the back foot and got behind the line to get the outside edge through to keeper Hope who takes a good catch as Australia lost half their side for 161 in the 60th over.
Alex Carey came & the keeper batter started to counter-attack for Australia by hitting a flurry of boundaries to create a partnership with Travis Head. Carey was not holding back against any bowler as Greaves was taken to the cleaners.
Both started to get boundaries away at will against Greaves and Warrican. But Greaves had the last laugh and broke a threatening stand as he got rid of Travis Head for 20. Anderson Phillip with an outstanding catch. Fuller length, slower delivery well outside off, Head goes down on one knee to put it away and mistimes it. Phillip from mid-off ran to his right and timed his jump to perfection to take an unbelievable catch as Australia lost their 6th for 189 in 65 overs. Captain Pat Cummins joined Alex Carey at the crease.
Cummins was quick off the blocks, hitting Warrican for the maximum down the ground to get himself going. West Indies soon had a moment to rejoice as Justin Greaves got rid of Alex Carey for 21 off 20 balls. Fuller length outside off, Carey looks to drive away from the body and the ball gets the inside edge of the bat through to Shai Hope, who does the rest. Carey departed for 21 off 20 balls as the Aussies were reduced to 198/7 in 66.4 overs. Mitchell Starc joined Cummins in the middle.
Starc in his 100th Test match did not last long as he departed for a duck. Fuller length from wider of the crease outside off seaming back into the batter. Starc opened up a bit looking to drive to get off the mark but the ball angled back to crash into the off-stump as the Aussies slump to 199/8 in 68 overs with Scott Boland coming to the crease.
Soon, the 200 came up for Australia as Cummins lived dangerously. West Indies also burnt a review against Cummins. The Australian captain had enough and wanted to play his shots. He hit two sixes off consecutive deliveries off Jayden Seales. But Seales had the last laugh as his hard length delivery outside off-stump made Cummins swing across the line and over mid-on. But he failed to clear him and was holed out for a quick 24 off 17 balls. Australia were 216/9 at this stage as Hazlewood entered the arena.
Hazlewood got a boundary away to get off the mark while Boland also got his first boundary as well. But Shamar Joseph had the final exclamation mark to the innings getting rid of Josh Hazlewood for 4 off 2 balls. Short of a length wide outside off for the left-hander, Hazlewood tried to smash it over point as there was no protection but got an outside edge to deep cover where Alzarri Joseph took the catch. Australia were bowled out for 225 in 70.3 overs. 16 extras given by the fielding side.
Shamar Joseph was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, finishing with 4/33 in 17.3 overs. Jayden Seales chipped in with 3/59 in 16 overs while Justin Greaves stepped up with 4/56 in 14 overs. It meant the West Indies had to come out to bat under lights for 40-45 minutes under challenging conditions.
A makeshift opening combination of Brandon King and Kevlon Anderson came out to bat as both the original openers, Mikyle Louis and John Campbell, were injured and were off the field for a long while. They were tasked to survive the all-out attack of Australia under lights. They started cautiously getting runs here and there but were compact in defence.
Brandon King got a boundary away, but Starc struck with the pink new ball as he so often does and got rid of debutant Kevlon Anderson. Fuller length outside the off-stump tailing back in, Anderson goes for the drive away from the body and gets an inside edge back onto the off-stump. West Indies were 11/1 as the debutant fell for 3 when captain Roston Chase joined the crease.
The duo of King and Chase played out the threat of Starc, Cummins, and an over from Scott Boland as well. They played judiciously and according to the merit of the ball and not any flashy drives. They managed to play through the remaining deliveries and went into Stumps at 16/1 in 9 overs. The West Indies trail by 209 runs with 9 wickets in hand, with King on 8* off 26 balls and Chase on 3* off 14 balls. All 4 pacers of Australia got a chance to bowl except Beau Webster and will be looking to charge in on Day 2.
What Lies Ahead.
So, the stage is set for Day 2 at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. It will be an important day for both teams. West Indies had the honours after Day 1, but must bat well on Day 2 so that they do not squander the opportunity away. We have to see the injury status of regular openers John Campbell and Mikyle Louis, who couldn’t open on Day 1. West Indies will look to get a good first innings under their belt while Australia will breathe fire with their pacers hungry for success.
How will Day 2 pan out? Only time will tell as the first innings lead will be crucial for either side. There is something in it for the bowlers, for sure, all the time, and it will keep everyone interested. Let’s see how things unfold on Day 2.
Also Read: WI vs AUS: 3 Reasons For West Indies’ Jaw Dropping Defeat Against Australia