- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 08/Jul 04:19

Battling against the vastly superior Australians

It is surprising how well the West Indies cricket team is challenging the Australians when one examines the position that they hold on the world cricket standings. The Aussies won the World Test Championship in 2023 after beating India in the final. When defending that position, they lost the final to South Africa, who are the new champions of 2025. It is a two-year worldwide challenge based on points gained after the completion of each round of Test cricket. This new-look Test tournament began in 2019 and the first final was played in 2021 between India and New Zealand, with New Zealand being the winners. West Indies lie at the bottom of the table in Test cricket standings. Therefore, when the men from the Caribbean have to meet the cricketers from Down Under, it is a case of the top-of-the-table Test stars against the lowly, bottom-rung of the ladder, where the West Indian cricketers are positioned because of their poor performances. [caption id="attachment_1165166" align="alignnone" width="768"] West Indies' Shai Hope is beaten by a delivery from Australia's Josh Hazlewood on day four of the second Test on July 6, - AP[/caption] Hence, in the present Test series, the top-flight Australian team were expected to wipe away their opponents with minimum fuss. Thus, the visitors to the Caribbean would have been surprised to meet the resistance that they have come up against in the first two Test matches of the three-match series so far. In the first Test, although the West Indian fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph floored the Aussie batting with figures of five for 60 and four for 46 respectively, in spite of pathetic catching, bundled them out for 180. This came about after Pat Cummings, the Australian captain, elected to bat first after winning the toss. However, the ball was swinging and the pitch was two-paced. Seales and Shamar Joseph utilised the advantage gained by the conditions and bowled splendidly. It was a pity that the catching in the slip area was so wretched and spoiled a perfect innings for the West Indies. Nevertheless, the Australians did not reach top-of-the-table status by under-performing and came back with some penetrative bowling by their seamers. West Indies were bowled out for 190 for a ten-run lead. The advantage which should have been accepted to build a useful lead was not allowed by the Aussie bowlers. [caption id="attachment_1165167" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption] To be fair, the wicket suited the bowlers in this Test match, although in the second innings, the Aussie batsmen dug in to build a worthy score. With a tremendous effort by Travis Head, a left-handed batsman and one of their leading run-scorers, Beau Webster, a relative newcomer, and Alex Carey, an experienced wicket-keeper batsman, who all scored in their sixties, helped build their total to just clear the 300-run milestone. West Indies were left with 300 runs to win with more than two days to spare. The wicket was the same for both teams, nonetheless, the Aussie bowlers used the advantage given by the pitch to unleash deliveries that the West Indian batsmen could not negotiate. In the game of Test cricket, the batsmen have to have the proper technique to negotiate the various types of pitches they’re called upon to play. There are so many factors that have to be included in the mix. The pitch is the essence of the game and so many elements come into the situation of the match. There are two innings that require five days. The type of pitch depends on the soil and also the weather conditions during preparation time. How the pitch turns out determines the type of bowler to be used to gain an advantage, plus the adjustment of the batsman to survive and score under the conditions, whether they’re suitable for stroke play by having an even bounce and a fast pace. As I write, the second Test has just been completed and Australia have given the Windies another sound defeat by 133 runs this time. I believe it still isn’t as bad as I thought the margin of victory would have been. The series has been surrendered and the Australians have retained the Frank Worrell Trophy. There was no doubt as to the difference in ability and class between the two teams, yet I believed it might have been worse, especially given the disparity between the two teams and their standing on the table of world cricket. What’s next for our improvement, Cricket West Indies?   The post Battling against the vastly superior Australians appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.