Australia might lose a Test match in the West Indies for the first time since 2003 after their inexperienced top-order batters failed again on day two of the Frank Worrell Trophy opener in Bridgetown.
At the end of the day’s play, Australia was 4 for 92, leading by 82 runs. Beau Webster (19 not out) and vice-captain Travis Head (13 not out) were still at the crease overnight.
The West Indies got a small first-innings lead, helped by solid batting from captain Roston Chase (44) and wicketkeeper Shai Hope (48). Australia then lost four wickets in the 3rd session, making the match very interesting for fans.
Openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja couldn’t handle the West Indies’ fast bowlers early on, while Cameron Green and Josh Inglis got out playing poor shots.
Earlier, the West Indies were bowled out for 190 runs in 63.2 overs. Their innings included a few controversial decisions by third umpire Adrian Holdstock, who faced criticism for the dismissals of Chase and Hope.
On Thursday morning when, all player came in ground the West Indies started at 4 for 57. They almost lost Roston Chase in the first over when Australia appealed for LBW. The ball might have hit his front pad, but the umpire’s not-out decision stayed because of a problem with the UltraEdge technology.
Australian players got more frustrated when Alex Carey dropped an easy catch, letting West Indies debutant Brandon King stay at the crease on 23 runs. Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas also missed tough chances in the field. But Carey’s drop didn’t matter much in the end, because King made a mistake by leaving a ball from Josh Hazlewood that bowled him.
Shai Hope, playing his first Test in nearly four years, hit two boundaries in a row off Mitchell Starc and then settled down to share a 67-run partnership with Chase.
Shamar Joseph is good bowler, yesterday he was in great form during the first session and had his sights set on Sam Konstas.
Joseph said he had a specific plan to target teenage batting talent Sam Konstas — and it worked “perfectly” as fast bowlers took control on day one of the Frank Worrell Trophy series.
Konstas, who is just 19, didn’t last long in his return to the Test team, facing only 14 balls. Joseph, who reminded fans of his famous seven-wicket haul at the Gabba, helped tear through Australia’s new top order, as the team was bowled out for 180 on the first day in Barbados.
Konstas was the first to go after captain Pat Cummins chose to bat. He was given out lbw for just three runs after a ball from Joseph swung back and hit his front pad. The on-field umpire, Nitin Menon, said not out at first, but the decision was changed on review.
New No. 3 Cameron Green also fail to give best perforemence— he was caught at second slip off Joseph for three. Josh Inglis, returning to the team, scored only five runs before hitting a short ball from Jayden Seales high in the air and getting out.
Seales, who opened the bowling with Joseph, took 5 wickets for 60 runs, backing up Joseph’s 4 for 46. He said the West Indies team had talked before the match about Australia’s batting being “vulnerable” because their new lineup had no experience playing Test cricket in the Caribbean.
Seales also said they know about a weak spot in Konstas’ technique they wanted to take advantage of.
“While watching the Australia vs India series, we saw he had trouble with balls coming back in. So we planned to use that as much as we could,” Seales said after play.
Even though this is only his first innings back in Test cricket, the way Konstas got out was similar to a pattern from the 2024 Under-19 World Cup, where he was bowled or given lbw in six of his seven innings.
Local bowlers in the Sheffield Shield, including his Test teammate Scott Boland, have also gotten him out with deliveries that swing in from outside off stump. Jasprit Bumrah got him the same way in his Boxing Day debut, beating the inside edge to bowl him.
