Australia vs West Indies 2nd Test: Day 1 live scores, blog

Australia and the West Indies do battle in the second and final Test of their series at the Adelaide Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3pm (AEDT).

After a comfortable win in Perth, the Australians will be looking to sweep the series with a second win in Adelaide and complete what would be a successful start to their busy summer.

With South Africa waiting in the wings for a potentially challenging three-Test series, another layer of confidence would be useful in rising to that challenge.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith starred with the bat in Perth on what was, it must be said, an average Test pitch on the whole. As soon as any condition was removed from the new ball, batting looked fairly comfortable and the movement available to the bowlers vanished very quickly after just a handful of overs.

However, the pink-ball Test always offers something far different, and Adelaide Oval traditionally becomes a mighty difficult place to bat as the sun sets and the lights take full effect.

The West Indies top order fought hard in both innings at Optus Stadium, yet may well find things a lot more challenging against an Australian attack that is one of the best in the world aided by more favourable conditions. The tourists will also have access to those conditions, yet the Windies’ quicks, despite their toil in Perth, do not appear to have the firepower to match the Aussies.

The loss of captain Pat Cummins is a significant one, although the likely inclusion of Scott Boland is an exciting one for local fans. Josh Hazlewood also joins him on the sidelines in a last-minute change due to soreness, with Michael Neser coming in for his second Test after making his debut in similar circumstances in Adelaide last year.

Kemar Roach will most likely not be available for the Windies, with Jayden Seales also under an injury cloud. All eyes will be on David Warner, with discussion around his future continuing to grow and the need for some big runs real for the veteran opener.

Prediction

In a match unlikely to go the full five days, the execution of the Australian quicks could well be the difference in this Test.

Whilst both batting line-ups will be tested in the night conditions, the sheer class of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood with a pink ball under lights might make things tougher for the West Indian top order than for their Australia counterparts.

Game information

Venue: Adelaide Oval
First ball: 3pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Cricket, Channel 7
Streaming: Foxtel GO, Kayo Sports
Betting: Australia $1.10, draw $9.50, West Indies $12 – odds via PlayUp

Teams

Australia

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Michael Neser, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland.

West Indies (predicted)

1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 3 Shamarh Brooks, 4 Jermaine Blackwood, 5 Devon Thomas, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Roston Chase, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Anderson Phillip, 11 Marquino Mindley.