As the second day of this match between Australia and the West Indies is in the books, these two teams were fighting for a clear advantage today. After a day on which Australia scored 286 runs to start this series, today was the other side’s chance to try to get close or cross them.
While the West Indies started on a very rough stretch and couldn’t keep a partnership going, their clutch performance towards the end helped them only trail by 33 runs. Captains Roston Chase and Pat Cummins both trusted their guts to make sure that neither side would take this match completely out of hand, with the Aussies one having a slight advantage.
With today being more of a day where both sides had to show patience and composure, it will be interesting to see how Australia rebounds after suffering a couple quick blows towards the last couple overs. As West Indies aren’t going to let things happen with full effort, head coach Darren Sammy reminded everyone that anything is possible in cricket, similar to his playing days.
Knowing that it will be vital to see who finishes on the right side of these Australia batting innings tomorrow, it is noteworthy to analyze what specifically transpired during today’s match ahead of day three.
West Indies Batting Woes Have Become Consistent In the Top Order
As the West Indies finished at 253/10, their top and middle order remains a huge concern after already being an issue during this group’s first test match against Australia. Opener Kraigg Braithwaite got out for 0 off just 8 deliveries after getting caught-and-bowled, which means that his chase for 6,000 runs is still not complete.
A big piece who struggled once again in the test format was Keacy Carty, as he has now just scored 46 runs in 3 innings. Although John Campbell, 40 runs of 52 balls, and the powerful Brandon King, who had a 75-run knock, were finding boundaries with ease, they were the only bright spots for this Windies unit today.
Captain Roston Chase seemed to have a pretty solid partnership going on with Brandon King, but it was broken post-lunch as he mis-timed a shot after getting off the mark. With that being said, many would have expected Shai Hope to carry this side’s load as he has done so many times.
Shai Hope’s start looked composed and sharp with a couple of boundaries to his 21 score, but was deceived by a fast ball that was aiming towards the stumps. Getting cleaned bowled, this group’s last four batsmen did a ton of heavy lifting to make the margin much closer, including a 27-run knock from Alzarri Joseph and another high score from Shamar Joseph as well.
The Australian Bowling Attack Had Control Early
A bowling unit in Australia that includes four top-tier test talents showed up once again and limited another group’s 1 through 7 batsmen. Although they allowed 253 runs due to the West Indies’ back end, Josh Hazlewood had started the day with a massive wicket of Kraigg Braithwaite and set an early tone. With him also getting the opposing captain in Roston Chase out, he showed great control of bowling at the legs and creating LBW chances.
Pat Cummins also struck gold pretty early today as he took out Keacy Carty and also managed to clean bowl Shai Hope, which is an impossible task for many great bowlers. Both his and Josh Hazlewood’s right-arm combination remains a massive threat to batsmen of any caliber.
Talking about spin bowling, Nathan Lyon once again did his job and picked up wickets at very key moments, including breaking Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph’s 50-run partnership. As he was also the bowler who took out a very aggressive Brandon King for 75, this was the bowler who made the biggest impact for Australia today.
Beau Webster also got into the wicket-taking fold with his delivery to John Campbell edged right towards Mitchell Starc for an easy catch. His 1.89 economy also showed that he has not started leaking too many runs or boundaries, especially when a squad is chasing down. Mitchell Starc was able to be a key threat towards the end as he not only helped finish off the West Indies innings, but delivered his iconic yorker to clean bowl Shamar Joseph.
Bowling Unit Outduels The Aussies’ Struggling Lineup Again
Going into the second innings, where Australia already had a sufficient lead, many thought that something would change about their batting lineup since they are playing with a little less tension. But, this wasn’t true as the Aussies have already lost two wickets and already have their backs against the wall.
Only up by 45 runs, both their openers once again managed to get out very fast and not look like a threat at all. As Sam Konstas seemed like he was finding some form in the first innings, Jayden Seals’ bowling prowess completely outclassed him and got the 19-year-old out for 0 runs on just 4 balls.
As it was one of the best pace deliveries a West Indies bowler has bowled in recent memory, his ball completely broke the stumps. Not only was that a massive wicket for Seals, but he managed to get another opener in Usman Khawaja out for 2 runs. On a very similar type of ball that attacked the middle, he got a clean LBW on Khawaja while causing him to fall for under 15 runs once again.
This has dropped the 38-year-old Khawaja’s average to nearly 14.6 in his past 6 innings, while not being able to latch onto a ball and time it in the gaps for four. With such a situation and seeing that Cameron Green may fall early as well, they called upon a bowler in Nathan Lyon to come 2 down since he may have some understanding of how Jayden Seals and Shamar Joseph think.
Also Read: WI vs AUS: “Captaining The West Indies Is A Great Job”- Roston Chase Ready To Embrace Leadership