Australia fared poorly on the first day of the second Test against the West Indies at Adelaide. The encounter, held at Grenada’s National Stadium, brought its own challenges for the team. Captain Pat Cummins chose to bat first and the Australian batting unit was quickly in strife. By the time lunch came around, they were in a difficult situation at 4-93. Carey and Webster had just come together in a dogged stand. Holland’s efforts supported the team’s 286 by stumps.
Despite that dreadful start, Carey and Webster put together a key 112-run partnership that steadied and propelled Australia’s innings. The pair’s work followed on the heels of eight prior dismissals that left the team unable to proceed on vulnerable terrain. Travis Head fell early when he gloved a delivery from Shamar Joseph, which was skillfully caught by West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope. Head’s dismissal for 6 off a low full toss compounded Australia’s misery.
Usman Khawaja faced difficulties, as he was trapped lbw by Alzarri Joseph and subsequently given out upon review for just 16 runs. Khawaja did set a personal milestone during the innings, becoming the 16th Australian to pass 6000 Test runs. Sam Konstas was on fire early, scoring 25 runs before nicking a delivery to wicketkeeper Hope. This shocking dismissal only piled on the pressure felt by the batting order.
In any case, the immediate return of acknowledged star batsman Steve Smith to the team did not make the intended impact. Anderson Phillip produced an incredible catch on the fine leg boundary. In fact, he trapped Smith via a top edge by a mere three runs. Cameron Green was put through the ringer by the West Indies bowling attack. 83 deliveries later, he had amassed 26 runs before being caught at gully by Windies captain Roston Chase off a ball from Jayden Seales.
With tea just around the corner, Australia looked well placed at 5-209. That all changed when they lost their last five wickets for only 64 runs after the dismissal of Alex Carey. Carey did his best to hold on, but eventually he too was gone, sparking a meltdown that left Australia all out for 286 in a hurry.
Despite the West Indies’ lack of regular offensive pressure, Alzarri Joseph was a breakout star. He produced an impressive spell of 4 for 61, rattling down the Aussie innings to a large extent. Unfortunately, Beau Webster’s innings came to an unexpected end when he tried an ill-advised double run just before stumps. This left Australia with a very challenging total to defend.
