The battle between West Indies and Australia has heated up impressively in the Grenada Test.
Brandon King, until now known mainly as a limited-overs specialist, showed in his second Test that he has the skills to succeed in the longer format as well. Despite that, West Indies found themselves in trouble at one point. However, a determined fight from the lower order duo of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph helped the Caribbean side close in on Australia’s total. After a small lead, Australia went back to bat and quickly lost both openers again.
At the end of day two of the Grenada Test, the contest is well and truly alive. Across both innings, Australia leads by 45 runs with 8 wickets remaining.
West Indies were all out for 253 in their first innings. Brandon King contributed a valuable 75 runs, while the crucial 51-run partnership for the eighth wicket between the two Josephs proved priceless.
Australia began their second innings with a 33-run lead and ended the day on 12 for 2 wickets.
West Indies were unable to bat on the previous day due to bad light. When they came out to bat on Friday, they suffered early setbacks.
Craig Brathwaite, playing his 100th Test, was caught cheaply by Josh Hazlewood without scoring. Following him, Casey Currie lasted only six runs before being brilliantly caught by Pat Cummins. The catch was a spectacular full-length dive from the Australian captain, who reacted instantly to a ball that glanced off the batsman’s pad after just a slight touch of the bat.
This marked only the eighth time in Test history that the first two wickets fell to catches by the bowler himself.
Opener John Campbell tried to steady the innings by playing shots from the start. He reached 40 runs, including 5 fours and a six, before gifting his wicket to Baz Webster with a poor shot.
From 64 for 3 wickets, King and captain Roston Chase carried West Indies through to lunch. But just after the break, Chase was dismissed cheaply for 16 in the first over.
Then came the first half-century partnership for the Caribbeans, with King joining hands with Shai Hope. King took on the Australian pace attack while Hope targeted spinner Nathan Lyon. King reached his first Test fifty with 7 fours and a six.
The partnership ended at 58 when Kamins bowled Hope for 21 with a sharply pitched delivery. In the very next over, Lyon dismissed King for a well-crafted 75 off 108 balls, featuring 8 fours and 3 sixes.
Soon after, when Lyon also took Justin Greaves’ wicket, West Indies were 174 for 7. It looked like Australia might build a big lead. But the two Josephs’ determined batting reduced the deficit. Both hit two sixes off the pacers, and their 50-run partnership came off 66 balls.
Lyon broke the partnership by bowling Alzarri Joseph for 27 after a long 17-over spell. Stark then bowled Shamar Joseph for 29.
After trailing by a small margin, Australia’s two openers failed once again. In the very first over, Sam Constance removed Usman Khawaja for 0 with a ball from Jaden Sills. Khawaja was then trapped LBW by the same bowler with a delivery that curved around the wicket.
Cameron Green and nightwatchman Lyon managed to survive the rest of the day with some resilience.
Brief Scores
- Australia 1st innings: 286
- West Indies 1st innings: 253 all out in 73.2 overs (Brathwaite 0, Campbell 40, Currie 6, King 75, Chase 16, Hope 21, Greaves 1, Alzarri Joseph 27, Shamar Joseph 29, Phillip 10, Sills 7*; Stark 13-1-48-1, Hazlewood 14-4-43-2, Cummins 16-2-46-2, Webster 10-4-17-1, Lyon 19-2-75-3, Head 1.2-0-3-1)
- Australia 2nd innings: 12/2 in 6 overs (Constance 0, Khawaja 2*, Green 6*, Lyon 2*; Sills 3-1-5-2, Shamar 2-0-4-0, Alzarri 1-0-2-0)
