Australia rattled by West Indies pacers in Barbados Test
World Test Championship finalists Australia were given a wake-up call by West Indies fast bowlers on the opening day of the Barbados Test as they were shot out for 180.
Pacers Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph tore through Australia's line-up on a lively surface at the Kensington Oval.
Aussie batters looked all at sea against the Windies quicks and could have been dismissed for an even lower score had the hosts held all their chances.
Opening batter Usman Khawaja was dropped early in the slip cordon by captain Roston Chase. Khawaja was the second highest scorer after Travis Head, who scored a quick fifty.
Khawaja battled to 47 before eventually falling to Joseph, featuring in an important 89-run fourth-wicket stand with Head after the Australians had slumped to 22-3 in the morning following Pat Cummins' decision to bat first upon winning the toss.
Head's top score of 59 was highlighted, as usual, by flamboyant drives and pulls, the left-hander counting nine boundaries in his 78-ball innings.
While Aussies fearsome pace attack of Mitchell Starc, captain Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood saved them the blushes, taking four wickets between them to send the West Indies in at stumps at 57-4, the Caribbean team gave the Aussies a glimpse of what awaits them in the three-match series.
Seales claimed a brilliant 5-60 and Joseph was equally impressive with 4-46. Joseph was particularly difficult to handle as he mixed high pace with late movement and consistent lines.
Australia's middle order offered little resistance, with Beau Webster (11) and Alex Carey (8) falling cheaply before seamer Justin Greaves claimed the prize scalp of Head for 59, caught behind.
Captain Cummins (28) provided the only lower-order resistance before Seales returned to sweep through the tail, completing his five-wicket masterclass and leaving Australia to contemplate the wreckage of their innings.
West Indies would have fancied their chances at that point, but Starc had other plans, snapping up the wickets of Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell in an action-packed opening spell.
Cummins then had Keacy Carty caught behind on 20 before Hazlewood bowled nightwatchman Jomel Warrican out for a duck.
"This one was pretty special for me," Seales said. "I have played against (Australia) once, and was injured. To play against them and get five on the first day was pretty special.
"With the new ball, the plan was to bowl fuller. We knew the batters would come hard if we gave them width, and the plan was to bowl full and as much at the stumps as possible.
"A little slower than what the Australians would have expected, and that made them play a lot more.
"Shamar was special today. He has a love for Australia. He got through the top order and made it easy for us in the middle and at the end."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Cricket Council
4 hours ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
Cummins hails match-winners as Australia get going in WTC27 ICC World Test Championship
In a match that ebbed and flowed, it was Australia who emerged victorious against West Indies in the opening Test of the three-match series in Bridgetown. While the win may not erase the heartbreak of Lord's just two weeks ago, it marks a positive start to their World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, with their first points now on the board. There was little to separate the sides after the first two innings – just 10 runs, in fact. Jayden Seales' five-wicket haul helped bowl Australia out for 180, before a disciplined all-round effort from the Australian bowlers restricted West Indies to 190, giving the hosts a slender lead. Australia found themselves in trouble at 65/4 after another top-order collapse, but the middle-order trio of Travis Head, Beau Webster and Alex Carey steadied the ship with crucial half-centuries. Head and Webster put together a 102-run stand, with Head playing the aggressor. After Head's dismissal, Carey took charge, highlighted by two brilliant straight sixes off Seales and Justin Greaves. "I thought those three were brilliant," Australia skipper Pat Cummins said at the post-match press conference. "They kept the scoreboard ticking over. I thought they took really good options. They were always looking to score. 'Really, that was the difference. [You are] turning up today thinking that if we didn't get a big lead it was 50-50, really. Those guys took the game away from West Indies." Cummins was particularly impressed by Beau Webster, who, despite having played just five Tests, has already built a reputation for digging Australia out of tough spots with grit and composure on challenging surfaces. On debut against India, the 31-year-old made an instant impact, scoring a half-century on a spicy Sydney pitch in the first innings and following it up with a brisk unbeaten 39 in their victorious chase. In the World Test Championship Final against South Africa, Webster stood tall with a counter-attacking 72 off 92 balls, the top score in Australia's first-innings total of 212. Against West Indies, he once again proved pivotal, anchoring two key partnerships in the second innings with a composed 63 off 120 balls that turned the tide in Australia's favour. He also made an impact with the ball, claiming two wickets in the first innings. Beau Webster helps Australia's cause with half-century | Player Highlights | WTC25 Final Beau Webster marked his first Lord's Test with a half century in the World Test Championship Final. "I think it's pretty much the same as what he does for Tasmania," Cummins said on Webster. "He seems to always contribute in some way. He's kind of knocked down the door with his performances over the years in Shield cricket. It's great when you've got someone like that coming to the team. 'They know their craft so well and you saw that today, even on a tricky wicket, he knew where his areas to score were. He's been a fantastic asset to the team over the last six months." After setting West Indies a target of 301, Australia needed just one session and under 34 overs to seal the win, dismantling the hosts for 141. Leading the charge was the ever-reliable Josh Hazlewood, who delivered a brilliant five-wicket haul to cap off the dominant performance. Hazlewood cleans up Stubbs with a jaffa | WTC25 Final Josh Hazlewood also got himself among the wickets by nipping one in to get rid of Tristan Stubbs. 'Give Josh a wicket with any little bit in it, and he finds it,' Cummins added on his pace bowling partner Hazlewood. 'Just hits the right area, ball after ball, presents good seam. I thought he was great at Lord's as well last week, without perhaps the returns that he was deserved. 'It's a huge asset to have him on our side as well. He's been keeping Scotty Boland out of the side and we know how good Scotty is. Really pumped for Josh this week.' The series now moves to St George's for the second Test, which gets underway on 3 July. ICC World Test ChampionshipNewsAustraliaWest Indies
Int'l Cricket Council
a day ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
Several changes made to ICC Playing Conditions
Adding to the present five-run penalty for a deliberate short run, the fielding team will also choose which of the two batters takes strike for the next delivery. DRS wicket zone The wicket zone will now be the actual outline of the stumps and bails. Concussion protocols There are two changes to the concussion protocols. Teams will now be required to nominate their designated concussion replacements for the match. This curbs the advantage previously held by home teams, who have typically been able to choose from a larger pool of potential replacements. A player diagnosed with a concussion during a match must observe a minimum stand-down period of a minimum of seven days before returning to play. This change has been recommended by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee to support players' safety and well-being. Further playing conditions to be trialled by Full Members From October 2025 and for an initial six-month period, there are additional changes. Replacement players (domestic first-class cricket) A player who suffers a serious injury on the field of play at any time after the match has started (including any pre-match warm-up period) may be replaced for the remainder of the match by a fully participating like-for-like player. Wide Ball Trial (ODI and T20I cricket) In an effort to provide leniency for a bowler who sees the batter moving around prior or during a delivery, a new wide ball rule will be trialled. As part of the changes, the position of the batter's legs at the point of delivery will now be used as the reference point for a wide, even if the batter subsequently moves across to the off side. The trial will see a ball that passes the popping crease between the leg stump and the protected area marker not being called a Wide. To help with this, the protected area marker line will be extended to the popping crease and act as a guide for the umpires. Any leg side delivery that passes behind the batter's legs and outside of the line at the time the ball reaches the popping crease may still be called a Wide. Previously, a wide had been called for a delivery that would not have been called wide if the batter had retained their normal batting position. Starting dates for new international playing conditions The new playing conditions commenced with the first match of the new World Test Championship on the 17 June, played between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh The new playing conditions for ODIs and T20Is will commence during the same Sri Lanka against Bangladesh series, with the first of three ODIs from 2 July, and a three-match T20I series from 10 July. All Test, ODI and T20I matches after these dates will be played under the new playing conditions.
The National
a day ago
- The National
India have to look beyond Jasprit Bumrah but who is next after him?
Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly one of the greatest all-format pacers of the 21st century. The Indian quick has conquered every opposition, home and away and in all formats. Multiple IPL trophies, a T20 World Cup triumph that was achieved only because of him, and an outstanding Test record that compares to the all-time greats all point to a phenomenal career. In red-ball cricket, Bumrah has raised the bar exponentially; his average of 19.6 is the best in the history of cricket among bowlers who have at least 200 wickets. However, the edge in his bowling is starting to wear thin after injury setbacks and a mediocre support cast. Even with him in the playing XI, the Indian bowling attack are falling flat in Test matches. The signs were there during the Test series last year against New Zealand where the India were whitewashed 3-0 for the first time at home. Bumrah failed to make an impact in the opening match and went wicketless in his next. The right-arm quick miraculously pulled off victory in the opening Test in Australia while juggling captaincy duties. But the exertions over the remainder of the series saw his back injury flare up again, ruling him out for months. He returned to bowling this year and was outstanding in the IPL, going for under seven runs an over. But his fitness became a big talking point. The rigours of Test cricket had taken its toll, and Bumrah was advised to play no more than three Tests in a series, and that, too, with enough rest and while monitoring his workload. The first Test against England in Leeds was one of those three games. India badly needed a win, or at least a draw, as after Bumrah, they don't have any pace spearhead. The right-arm pacer picked up five wickets in the first innings, but when the team really needed extra effort from Bumrah while defending 371 in the second innings, he went wicketless. This is not the first time this has happened in Tests in England. During the 2021 World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton, Bumrah went wicketless on a pitch where no team scored more than 250. What was thought to be a one-off in Tests has sadly been happening more often. Bumrah is either not taking wickets, or teams are simply working him out. Whatever the reason, India can't rely only on Bumrah to take 20 wickets anymore. A few years back, India had a rock-solid pace attack in Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma. All three would guarantee 50-60 overs of immaculate pace, control and swing. Now, the Indian pace cupboard sits largely empty in red-ball cricket. Mohammad Siraj is all hustle and bustle but can't be relied to work in tandem with Bumrah; something Shami and Ishant did expertly. And after Siraj, it is slim pickings. Prasidh Krishna is eager and quick, but lacks Test miles in his legs to be a consistent threat. After him, India are hoping left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh provides some much-needed conventional swing at some point in the England series. Akash Deep has shown potential with pace and swing, but has somehow not won the trust of the team management. And after that? All-rounders Shardul Thakur was non-threatening for most of the first Test. Nitish Kumar Reddy needs to work on his bowling a lot more to be considered an all-rounder. The team is clutching at straws beyond this point. So while India were fixated on the departure of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the Test batting line-up, it is the sidelining of Shami and Ishant that should have really set the alarm bells ringing. In the Headingley Test, India scored five centuries across both innings without Kohli and Rohit. It is in pace bowling where India are seriously lacking. And once Bumrah is put on an enforced break, new Test captain Shubman Gill will have few alternatives.
