Australia has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Frank Worrell Trophy campaign after defeating the West Indies by 133 runs at Grenada’s National Cricket Stadium.
The hosts, who were chasing a 277-run target for victory, collapsed to 4-33 before being bowled out for 143 in 34.3 overs.
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Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon each claimed three wickets, while captain Pat Cummins produced an absolute peach to remove West Indies wicketkeeper Brandon King.
The third Test between the West Indies and Australia gets underway at Kingston’s Sabina Park on Saturday.
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PLAYER RATINGS: Green answers critics as Smith sounds Ashes warning
INDIA WINS: Bazball handed humiliating reality check
‘REMARKABLE’ SMITH ACT PROVES HIS GENIUS
Steve Smith is a natural problem-solver, perpetually tinkering with his technique in hopes of getting an upper hand over his opponents.
The New South Welshman adapts on the fly, making changes to his batting in the middle of a series, or even in the middle of a match if required. It’s why he’s considered one of the greatest players of the modern era.
Following his first-innings dismissal in St. George’s – top-edging a bouncer from speedster Alzarri Joseph towards deep fine leg – Smith implemented a different stance when he walked out to bat on day three.
Abandoning his trademark shuffle across the crease, the right-hander stood still on middle stump in the second innings, defending watchfully whenever the West Indies seamers targeted the pegs.
Smith knew that he was vulnerable to LBW and bowled due to the pitch’s unpredictable bounce, with the technique change designed to negate the deck’s low bounce and minimise the chance of being beaten on the inside edge – a problem he endured at the start of last year.
The 36-year-old posted a gritty 71 – Australia’s highest score of the series thus far – to revive the innings and help the tourists set a tricky target for the West Indies.
“He’s one of the great problem solvers,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said in commentary.
“The danger ball was the straight one, so he defended his stumps really well
“He didn’t go across his stumps as much as he normally would because he’s worried about the LBW decisions, so he’s stayed a little bit more leg side.
“He’s very, very adaptable, not many people can do it.”
Former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite continued: “He almost changed his whole trigger and set-up to counterattack the West Indies’ straight line of attack, and he found a way to do it.
“Just being able to do that on the fly was remarkable.”
Blewett also revealed that Smith had told him about another change he made during the second innings in Grenada – his grip.
The Australian vice-captain missed the series opener against the West Indies in Barbados due to a finger injury he sustained during the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s. He donned a splint on the little finger on his right hand this week, which forced him to tinker with his grip.
“He was saying because of his finger, he was having to use his T20 grip,” Blewitt explained.
“He has a completely different grip when he plays T20 cricket compared to when he plays Test match cricket. I never would have thought to have a different grip for a different form of the game.”
Since returning to his preferred position at No. 4 at the start of last summer, Smith has accumulated 739 runs at 49.26, with four centuries in nine matches.
‘THEY WANT HIM BACK’: AUSSIE NO. 3 DILEMMA LAID BARE
Cameron Green dropped his bat on the pitch and kicked it away in disgust.
Typically a very subdued cricketer, the West Australian failed to hide his emotions following his dismissal on day three of the Grenada Test.
Green had the previous delivery celebrated a half-century, his first fifty since being promoted to No. 3 in the Test team. After a rough start to his tenure at first drop, the right-hander is showing signs of improvement with scores of 3, 15, 26 and 52 — he’s trending in the right direction.
“I’ve batted number four for Western Australia, being one spot up is no different,” Green told reporters at stumps on day three.
“My balls faced has been trending up; the runs haven’t been there but there’s certainly little positives I can take out of it.
“It’s a tough game so being able to bounce back from tough times is equally as important, so there’s good signs out there.”
Green’s most glaring concern since returning to the Test side has been a tendency to play away from his body, an issue that plagued him during the World Test Championship final at Lord’s and last week’s series opener in Barbados.
However, the 26-year-old was considerably more patient in St. George’s, leaving alone wide balls and respecting length deliveries in the channel — until his dismissal, chopped on after attempting an ill-judged cut stroke.
After 122 deliveries of watchful, cautious batting, he threw it away with another needless slash outside off. It’s perhaps why he was so disappointed with himself afterwards.
”It’s been a big ask for Cameron Green, who has played most of his cricket for Australia at No. 6,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said in commentary.
“I’m not sure whether he’s a long-term No. 3 for Australia, but at the moment he’s doing a reasonable job.
“There has been some challenging conditions, it hasn’t been easy for Green but I thought in both innings in this Test match, there was more fluency in his game.”
Green is battling the same demons as his predecessor, Marnus Labuschagne, who across the last couple of years has often been dismissed playing away from his body.
Since the start of 2023, Australian No. 3 batters have averaged 29.7 in Tests with one hundred, while the previous eight years saw 24 hundreds with a healthy average of 51.5.
Pending what happens next week in Jamaica and during the first few rounds of the Sheffield Shield, Blewett predicted that Labuschagne could reclaim his Test spot ahead of the Ashes.
“I believe that (Australia) would love Marnus Labuschagne back in really good form, and I think he’s the ideal No. 3 if he’s playing well,” Blewett said.
”We’ve seen that from him at Test level, it’s just the last couple of years where he’s gotten out consistently nicking the ball.
“Long term, what Marnus offers the side at No. 3, they want him back there.”
STRUGGLING KHAWAJA GETS ‘JOSEPH-ED’
Back in January, Usman Khawaja declared he had been “Bumrah-ed” following a series of low scores during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign – but the veteran opener has since been “Rabada-ed” in the World Test Championship final and “Joseph-ed” in the Caribbean.
Khawaja, once the most reliable member of Australia’s top order, has only managed one triple-figure in Tests since July 2023, his career-best 232 against Sri Lanka in Galle.
The left-hander has averaged 33.55 during that period, while that figure slips to 27.89 when excluding his Galle masterclass. Albeit, batting averages for Test openers have been dropping globally, while Khawaja was Australia’s leading run-scorer during the previous World Test Championship cycle.
In the Caribbean, the West Indies bowlers unearthed a potential weakness in Khawaja’s technique that England’s quicks will no doubt look to exploit next summer. He has been dismissed by right-armed seamers from around the wicket in each of his four knocks thus far, trapped LBW on three occasions.
On Friday evening in Grenada, he played back to a full delivery from speedster Jayden Seales that would have hit halfway up middle stump, wasting a review before sheepishly trudging off for 2.
“We obviously had our plans for each and every batsman, and I guess that’s the area we’re trying to exploit,” West Indies captain Roston Chase explained at stumps on day two.
“It’s been working for us so far.”
Every top-order batter has struggled in this series, but Khawaja’s twin dismissals in Grenada will only fuel speculation he’s vulnerable against world-class fast bowling – a claim he rejected before the start of the series.
“I open the batting for Australia, so I get out to seam more than I get out to anyone else,” Khawaja said last month.
“It’s just part and parcel of the game.”
The Queenslander has been assured selection until the end of the upcoming Ashes campaign. He will turn 39 in December, at which point he’ll become Australia’s oldest Test cricketer in nearly four decades.
Amid speculation of ageing eyes and slower reflexes, debate surrounding his spot on the Test side will only intensify unless he contributes in Jamaica next week.
Although there aren’t any obvious replacements bashing the door down for selection, former Test openers Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft are plundering runs for fun in the County Championship, while Matthew Renshaw struck a century for Australia A earlier this week.
‘KRYPTONITE’: AUSSIE SLAYER DOES IT AGAIN
The Australians have no answers for Shamar Joseph.
The West Indies speedster, who took a five-wicket haul in each of his first three Tests against Australia, claimed another four scalps during the second innings in Grenada, helping clean up the tail on day four.
Joseph dismissed the dangerous Travis Head twice in St. George’s — once with a delivery that burst off the deck and another that kept low and rattled the timber.
Last year, he dismissed superstar Steve Smith with his first delivery in Test cricket before bowling the West Indies to a famous victory at the Gabba, taking seven wickets with a busted toe.
In four matches against Australia, Joseph has 27 Test scalps at 18.03 with a strike rate of 26.0. Across the last 50 years, only one cricketer has taken more wickets against Australia at a lower average — India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
“It’s almost like he’s their kryptonite,” former West Indies all-rounder Stacy-Ann King said in commentary.
Only two seam bowlers have taken more wickets than Joseph in their first four Tests against Australia – England’s Tom Richardson and Maurice Tate, who both played before World War II.
Most wickets in first four Tests against Australia
34 — Harbhajan Singh (IND)
32 — Anil Kumble (IND)
31 – Tom Richardson (ENG)
29 – Maurice Tate (ENG)
27 – Shamar Joseph (WI)
27 – Frank Foster (ENG)
