After Australia’s massive win in Hobart, hopes weren’t high for a competitive Boxing Day Test.
By stumps on day two, the West Indies were 6/91, still 460 runs behind. Many expected Australia to fire out the tail, enforce the follow-on and secure another win inside three days.
Doomsdayers were busy predicting the demise of the West Indies, with the once highly coveted Frank Worrell Trophy (which Australia has owned since 1995), rumoured to demoted to an August pre-season in Darwin and Northern Queensland.
Then, on the third day, something happened.
The West Indies actually showed some fight.
The first session was tough, old school Test cricket. Darren Bravo (81 off 204 balls) and debutant Carlos Brathwaite (59 off 126 balls) grinded out 30 runs in the first hour and 82 before Nathan Lyon took a sharp caught and bowled off Brathwaite in the 72nd over, ending a 90-run stand.
Australia was partly to blame, with two wickets off no-balls. Resuming at 7/173 after lunch, Kemar Roach and Bravo put on 42 as the West Indies were eventually dismissed for 271 in 100.3 overs. By contrast, their two innings in Hobart lasted just 106 overs. Though Australia led by 280, there were no thoughts of enforcing the follow-on, which was a moral victory for the West Indies in the circumstances.
Encouraged by an improved batting display, Jerome Holder and Brathwaite took early wickets. At 2/64, Australia would have been in trouble against any other team, but Steve Smith (70 not out) and Usman Khawaja (56) restored some sanity, batting Australia to 3/179 and an overnight declaration.
While the West Indies could take heart from their fight, nobody expected them to bat two days, let alone chase 460. Surely a well-rested Australian bowling attack would make short work of it on day four.
Again the West Indies continued to fight. Their top seven batsman made double figures. This forced Australia to work harder than expected on a dead pitch. At 5/150 in the 58th over, Australia were still confident of a fourth day win. Captain Jason Holder (68 off 86 balls) and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (59 off 90 balls) scored 100 runs in 21 overs. Unfortunately, the West Indies’ tail folded and they were dismissed in 88.3 overs, just shy of forcing Australia to take the optional extra half hour.
In the end, Australia won by 177 runs deep into the fourth evening, retaining the Frank Worrell Trophy.
While the West Indies improved, the result was safe by the second day, so it was a case of how much Australia would win by at that stage.
Is this how far the West Indies have fallen? Where any Test that lasts more than three days is considered a victory? The current squad at times seems like a sub-district team: a handful of good players with a sudden drop in quality from there.
The sad thing is some of the West Indies’ best are playing in the Big Bash. What they wouldn’t give for Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo or Chris Gayle to pull on the whites.
Australia does benefit from some resistance. They’re a rebuilding side under Smith and need to be pushed, rather than feasting on sub-standard opposition. Australia showed some character in persisting on days three and four (cue horrid clichés about “sticking to plans”, “controlling the controllables”, “hitting good areas”, “backing your ability”, “credit to the boys” so on and so forth) when many expected the West Indies to roll over again.
Now the West Indies need to continue their improvement at the SCG. Nobody expects them to win, but it’d be great to see them push Australia a little bit and show they can take Test cricket seriously.
BrainsTrust
Guest
It was a victory for prolonging the test match strategy by having Australiia bat first and not enforce the follow on. The strangest thing of all was the high ratings for last session of Day 4. Then you have the great story of Chris Gayle too crippled to be able to block the ball and work singles in Test cricket. Yet due to the magic of the BBL, the cripple managed to hit a six, surely a miracle.
peeeko
Guest
they took 6 australian wickets - the margin flattered them enormously
Don Freo
Guest
Ball tracker might well have had his skidding flipper going over the top on the evidence of some predictions recently. It has been a problem this series.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Indeed boys, Warnie was as cunning as they come as well as being a brilliant bowler. Ball tracker would have been bamboozled. Dazza Hair loved him a little too much I think.
Howzat
Guest
Wasn't Warnie reputed to have asked an umpire "so you can't pick my straight one either" when an LBW appeal was turned down ?
Andy
Guest
Would be fun to watch a few tests especially of Shane Warne bowling and see the ratio of appeals by the bowlers to wickets given, or at least appeals to half a chance it was going to hit.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
It was pretty funny watching the lbw appeals and reviews. It reconfirmed that no matter what level, most bowlers wouldn't know an lb if it bit ém on the a*se. When an ump says it''s going down leg, or too high, or hits/pitches outside the line, it usually is.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Hardly a moral victory. An improvement that there was some fight, but they still lost 20 wickets for 170 less runs than Australia got losing just 6 wickets. Over 2 test matches the West Indies have taken a combined total of 10 wickets, while losing all 40 themselves. That is an incredibly scary gap in quality. I've had the feeling through the WI decline that these modern players look back on the dominant players of the previous generations and they just seem to do it all easy, with such a swagger, it's like they aren't even trying, and thus feel like to emulate them they need to just be cool and not really put in masses of effort. But on the radio coverage yesterday as I drove home Courtney Walsh was on commentary as they were talking about how incredibly hard the West Indies team of that era worked. They had the swagger and looked just so natural and cool, but they were that good because they worked harder, and more professionally than anyone else at the time. That seems to be a big part of what is missing in West Indian cricket. Not as much a lack of talent coming through but a lack of professional work ethic.