Australia Battles Under Lights as West Indies Fight Back

Tourists Lead Series, But Night Conditions Expose Top-Order Wobbles

Jamaica’s notoriously tricky floodlights continue to trouble Australia’s batsmen, but a potent bowling display kept their hopes of a series whitewash alive on day two in Kingston.

Boland Stars as Windies Collapse

Returning quick Scott Boland justified his selection, ripping through the West Indies’ top order to dismiss them for 143. His incisive spell, returning figures of 3-34, handed Australia a crucial 82-run first-innings lead.

The West Indies’ batting frailties were starkly exposed. They were bowled out for their lowest first-innings score of the series, struggling against Australia’s four-pronged pace attack. Boland, in particular, was exceptional, landing over 91% of his deliveries on a good length.

“His [Boland’s] only blemish was perhaps four front foot no balls,” the report noted, highlighting one instance where a wicket was overturned.

Earlier, Josh Hazlewood (2-32) had struck to remove opener Brandon King for 14, a decision upheld on review. Skipper Pat Cummins (2-24) also joined the wicket-taking, enticing a catch from opposing captain Roston Chase (18).

Boland continued his excellent work, bowling out the dangerous Shai Hope (23) with a brilliant inswinger. Mitchell Starc (1-32) also chipped in, finding the edge of Justin Greaves (18) who was later run out by a sharp throw from Sam Konstas.

Australia’s Second Innings Struggles Under Lights

Despite the first-innings advantage, Australia’s own batting concerns resurfaced under the lights. The pink ball proved a handful, with 13 of their 16 wickets across the first two days falling in the night session.

The series has seen a dramatic downturn in batting averages, with the combined figure dropping below 20. This challenging run-scoring environment was compounded by the Jamaican night conditions.

Teenage opener Sam Konstas endured another frustrating outing, departing for a second-ball duck, falling to Shamar Joseph (2-26) for the third time this series. Veteran Usman Khawaja (14) followed, undone by Joseph‘s consistent line and length. Steve Smith (5) was also dismissed by a delivery that ricocheted off his pads.

Travis Head (16) and Alex Carey (0) were both caught in the slips, with Alzarri Joseph (3-19) proving particularly effective. Beau Webster (13) attempted to counterattack but lost his off stump to Joseph, before captain Cummins (5 not out) and Cameron Green (42 not out) saw Australia through to stumps at 6-99, extending the lead to 181.

Australia aims to push their lead past 200 on day three, hoping for more comfortable batting conditions in daylight. The West Indies, meanwhile, will be targeting quick wickets to give their batting lineup a chance to set a target before the lights come back on.

Series Snapshot

Australia has already secured the Frank Worrell Trophy, winning the first two Tests convincingly.

The third Test concludes the series before a five-match T20I series begins.

The average runs scored per wicket across all men’s Test matches in 2023 was 30.37, highlighting the unusually low scoring in this series (ESPN Cricinfo).