Two late wickets for speedster Jayden Seales has given the West Indies a sniff at a comeback victory in the second Test against Australia at Grenada’s National Cricket Stadium.
The tourists are 2-12 at stumps, leading by 45 runs, with Cameron Green (6*) and nightwatcher Nathan Lyon (2*) unbeaten overnight.
Earlier, the West Indies were bowled out for 253 after Brandon King notched a career-best 75, with veteran spinner Lyon taking three wickets.
However, Seales flipped the match on its head by removing both of Australia’s openers late in the evening session, with Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja falling cheaply.
The second Test between the West Indies and Australia resumes on Sunday at 12am AEST.
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‘NOWHERE TO HIDE’: LATEST FAILURE LEAVES KONSTAS A ‘BROKEN YOUNG MAN’
Sam Konstas is running out of chances to prove he’s the real deal.
The teenage opener announced himself to the cricket world last summer with a dazzling Boxing Day blitz, but that half-century is quickly becoming an anomaly in a series of low scores for the Australian prodigy.
Since his maiden Test knock at the MCG, Konstas has posted 8, 23, 22, 3, 5, 25 and 0, while his batting average has slipped to 18.25.
On Friday evening, Konstas was tasked with surviving an awkward 40-minute passage before stumps, but he didn’t last beyond the first over, dismissed by West Indies quick Jayden Seales for a fourth-ball duck.
Cheap dismissals are a common workplace hazard for Test openers — but Konstas couldn’t blame his wicket on the swinging Dukes ball or the unpredictable pitch.
The right-hander chased a wide delivery from Seales, reaching at the ball without moving his feet and chopping back onto the stumps.
Konstas was a despondent figure as he walked back towards the sheds, shaking his head the entire way off the ground.
“More problems for the 19-year-old,” former West Indies bowler Ian Bishop said in commentary.
“There are issues for Sam Konstas, standing on leg stump and throwing his hands at the ball.
“When he left the field, he looked a broken young man.”
Former Australian batter Greg Blewett identified that Konstas was struggling with his balance at the crease, pointing out that he adjusts his feet after playing a shot.
“Opening the batting in Test match cricket, there’s nowhere to hide,” Blewett said.
“His feet aren’t planted, and then he’s throwing his hands at the ball.
“After he makes contact, his feet are still moving, and that’s not ideal.
“That suggests to me things aren’t quite right with his balance.”
Konstas isn’t the only top-order batter short of runs in this series, but his unconvincing performance in the Caribbean is creating plenty of headaches for the Australian selectors ahead of the Ashes.
“He got thrown in a tough situation there,” teammate Josh Hazlewood said of Konstas at stumps.
“He’s such a quick learner … he’s trending in the right direction.
“Every time I’ve bowled to him in the last few months, he just keeps getting better and better.”
‘INEXPLICABLE’: WINDIES STAR’S BRAIN FADE ‘REEKS OF BOREDOM’
West Indies opener John Campbell has been accused of lacking the temperament required for Test cricket following his reckless dismissal on day two in Grenada.
The 31-year-old didn’t shy away from playing his shots on Friday morning, repeatedly walking down the pitch at Australia’s fast bowlers with aggressive strokeplay. His first delivery was squirted through gully for a streaky boundary, later rocking onto the back foot and thumping Josh Hazlewood over square leg for six.
Campbell accumulated 31 runs from his first 30 deliveries, with the commentators questioning whether his attacking style was the best modus operandi in these conditions against this opposition.
And West Indies coach Darren Sammy was left rolling his eyes in disbelief when Campbell threw his wicket away in the 16th over.
Charging down the pitch at all-rounder Beau Webster, the left-hander attempted to clip the Dukes ball through mid-wicket, instead scooping a regulation catch towards Mitchell Starc at mid-on.
“To play that shot, it reeks of boredom and that is not a sign that you want for a Test player,” T20 World Cup champion Carlos Brathwaite said.
“It’s something he has to work on. I like what we saw from him, but he has to do it for longer.”
Campbell sheepishly trudged off for 40, leaving the West Indies in a precarious position at 3-64.
“He just gifts his wicket away,” former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree said in commentary.
“After looking so comfortable and composed, a brain fade from Campbell.
“This really is inexplicable.”
Former West Indies all-rounder Stacy-Ann King continued: “It’s not necessary at this phase.”
It was the sixth time Campbell had been dismissed in the forties in Tests, passing fifty on just three occasions.
“He has a penchant for getting starts and not going on,” Badree said.
“He gets starts and then he gets out.”
CAPTAIN CUMMINS’ MOMENT OF ‘PURE GENIUS’
Whenever Australia finds itself in desperate need of a breakthrough, their captain often delivers.
Pat Cummins, the pick of the touring bowlers in Grenada on Friday, produced a game-changing moment late in the afternoon session to swing momentum back in Australia’s favour.
West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope and batter Brandon King had combined for a 58-run partnership for the fifth wicket to frustrate Australia’s bowlers, with the hosts eating away at the deficit and eyeing a potential first-innings lead.
During the 45th over, Cummins adjusted his run-up and came wide of the crease, getting a delivery to nip away from Hope and beat the outside edge.
The following delivery, Cummins once again bowled from the edge of the wicket — almost landing on the return crease — but on this occasion produced a wobble-seam delivery that moved the other direction, bowling Hope through the gate.
It was a masterclass in fast bowling.
“Quality fast bowling,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said in commentary.
“Wide of the crease, that angle has worked.
“That is an absolute peach.”
Former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree continued: “Skill of the highest class, deceiving Shai Hope with the angle.”
Hope’s dismissal sparked a brief collapse of 3-5 from 21 deliveries, with Australia suddenly in a commanding position at the tea break.
Cummins, who earlier in the day took a stunning one-handed catch to remove Keacy Carty, finished the innings with figures of 2-46 from 26 overs.
MILESTONE MAN’S ‘DISAPPOINTING’ DUCK AFTER ‘STRANGE SHOT’
Ahead of the St George’s Test, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell presented Kraigg Brathwaite with a cap to commemorate the veteran opener’s 100th Test match.
The 32-year-old, who made his international debut in 2011, became just the tenth West Indies cricketer to play 100 Test matches, joining an elite group of Caribbean sporting greats.
“It means everything,” Brathwaite told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the milestone match.
“Words to describe it would be pretty tough. You always want to play for the West Indies as a youngster, but to play 100 Tests was a dream.”
All eyes were on Brathwaite when play got underway on day two — but the right-hander only lasted eight deliveries, dismissed by Josh Hazlewood during the Australian quick’s first over of the match.
Fending at a length delivery with hard hands, Brathwaite chipped a return catch back towards Hazlewood, who held onto a sharp chance low to his left. The milestone man departed for a duck, leaving the West Indies in early trouble at 1-7.
Speaking in commentary, former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite pondered why his former teammate attempted such an uncharacteristic stroke.
“Pushing away from the body, not something you’re accustomed to seeing from him,” Brathwaite said.
“Strange shot. It’s out of the comfort zone for Kraigg Brathwaite.
“Maybe the emotion, getting off the mark in his 100th Test, eight balls in and still on a duck.
“He’s not a big driver of the ball … he is not someone that plays expansive drives.
“To not trouble the scorers is disappointing.”
Brathwaite has averaged 18.56 in Tests since the start of 2024, with no hundreds in 25 knocks during that period.
HAZLEWOOD’S WINDIES LOVE AFFAIR CONTINUES
The West Indies batters must see Josh Hazlewood in their nightmares.
The Bendemeer Bullet’s phenomenal Test record against the Caribbean team has continued, with the seamer taking two wickets on day two of the Grenada contest.
After removing veteran opener Kraigg Brathwaite in his first over of the match, Hazlewood returned after the lunch to trap rival captain Roston Chase on the pads for 16.
The New South Welshman, who took a five-wicket haul in Barbados last week, finished the day with figures of 2-43 from 14 overs with four maidens.
Hazlewood averages 15.42 against the West Indies in Tests, which is comfortably the lowest margin among his opponents. Only one cricketer with at least 25 scalps boasts a lower average against the West Indies — South African quick Kagiso Rabada.
“From a bowling effort, it was pretty good,” Hazlewood told reporters at stumps.
“We stuck to our guns, we created opportunities.”
Josh Hazlewood’s bowling average in Tests by opponent
15.42 – West Indies
22.08 – Pakistan
25.49 – India
25.97 – England
27.09 – New Zealand
27.44 – South Africa
32.71 – Sri Lanka
