It was a strange way to start. Out of Australia’s last 146 Test matches before taking the field at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Saturday, off spinner Nathan Lyon had missed seven. Four of those were in 2012 and 2013, left out for other configurations of bowlers. Three were after he blew out his calf during the 2023 Ashes. And that was that.
Surprisingly, Kingston became the eighth match that Lyon has missed in his 14 years of Tests, and the fifth when fit, after a series in which he has gone for a few sixes but taken nine wickets at 18. Instead Australia opted to include Scott Boland as the fourth fast bowler for a day-night fixture on a surface that they guessed would suit pace.
Not that bowling was the primary concern, with Australia winning the toss and choosing to bat before a familiar pattern played out. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before in the last few weeks: low scores for both under-pressure openers, a slide towards trouble, and a rally from the lower-middle order towards a vaguely credible score of 225.
By the mid point of the evening session, a decent crowd was watching the strange spectacle of a team on day one slogging for quick runs in one-day style, more interested in a brief bowling tilt at their opponents under lights.
That bagged them one wicket for 16 runs against a West Indies order discombobulated by injuries in the field. Two makeshift openers in Brandon King and Kevlon Anderson had to do the job after Mikyle Louis landed badly on a knee and John Campbell was hit by a ball at short leg, with both heading to hospital for examination.
Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph also went for scans for an undisclosed niggle, but was back on the ground by the end of the fielding innings. The scheduled openers should be able to bat on day two, with West Indies currently trailing by 209.
Australia will back their bowlers to secure a lead even in these circumstances, but their batting worries continue. Sam Konstas played the ball with more circumspection after a wild early dismissal in Grenada, but you couldn’t say the same for his running, with several jittery wanders down the wicket. The 19-year-old was dropped in the cordon as he has been repeatedly this series, and was eventually out for 17 from his 53rd ball to his signature weakness of the angle into his stumps, Justin Greaves trapping him lbw.
Khawaja ground out 92 balls, scoring one boundary in his 23 via a clean pull shot, but also fell as he has so often in the past couple of years, prodding at the line of right-arm pace around the wicket, keeper Shai Hope taking a one-handed screamer from Shamar Joseph.
Cameron Green and Steve Smith put together a stand that looked like it had steadied the innings into the second session, with Green growing into his role at first drop after making 26 and 52 in the second Test. He reached 46 here before Jayden Seales bowled him with a beauty, angling in and seaming away to knock back off stump. Smith’s 48 was uncharacteristically streaky, throwing his hands at a range of deliveries outside off stump, lacing a few but slicing others over and through slip before eventually nicking one to first.
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That was just after the evening break, and at that point the fast-forward button was hit hard. Beau Webster nicked behind cheaply, leaving Alex Carey to come out all guns blazing for 14 off his first six balls, including an outrageous walking chip drive over cover for six. Travis Head was out for 20 trying to match him, slicing his lofted drive, ending with a stunning diving catch from sub fielder Anderson Phillip after sprinting across from mid off.
Carey nicked behind while driving at Greaves on 21. Pat Cummins smacked three sixes to make 24 off 17 before holing out attempting another from Seales, who then bowled Mitchell Starc for nought. Josh Hazlewood finished the helter-skelter display by cutting a catch to deep point. The collapse was 7 for 68 in less than 15 overs.
That left Australia nine overs to bowl, which at other times in this series has been enough for a bag of West Indies wickets. They had to settle for the one, Anderson bowled by the inswinger to give Starc his 396th wicket in his 100th Test.
West Indies will still be vulnerable against Australia’s bowling when King and Roston Chase resume on the second afternoon, even if their injured players return better for a night’s sleep, but if the pace approach doesn’t work for a time, the touring team won’t be able to turn to their frontline spinner, who will be running drinks in an orange vest.