West Indies vs Australia, day three Talking Points, Beau Webster, Shamar Joseph, video, highlights

Australia’s bowlers and middle-order batters did the damage as Pat Cummins’ side started the new World Test Championship cycle with a dominant victory in Bridgetown.

The 159-run margin in Barbados was perhaps a little misleading in the end as the first Test hung in the balance for much of the contest until Josh Hazlewood ran riot on the third evening with his 13th Test five-wicket haul.

Just like the World Test Championship final at Lord’s and the home summer against India, it was a clash of two superb bowling attacks.

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Shamar Joseph caused headaches for the Australians once again with nine wickets in the match, but second-innings half-centuries to Travis Head, Beau Webster and Alex Carey ensured that Australia could muster more runs than the hosts brittle batting line-up despite their own top-order frailties.

The batters will be eager to get away from the up-and-down pitch, but selection pressure is already coming on Australia’s new-look top four.

Here are the biggest talking points from Australia’s first Test win against the West Indies.

PLAYER RATINGS: Bowlers to the rescue as top-order flops

‘ULTIMATE ALL-ROUNDER’ HEAPS FURTHER PRESSURE ON GREEN

He bats, he bowls, and he takes catches in the slips. Beau Webster is the complete package.

Having taken two wickets the previous afternoon, Webster continued the impressive start to his Test career with a vital half-century on day three of the series opener in Bridgetown.

The Tasmanian all-rounder, who also cracked a fifty during the recent World Test Championship final against South Africa, anchored Australia’s second innings at Kensington Oval with a patient 63 that featured eight boundaries.

“He’s been exceptional since he came into the team,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said in commentary.

“He’s just the ultimate all-rounder.

“He’s been a real find for the Australians.”

Webster currently averages 43.57 with the bat and 27.80 with the ball in Tests, albeit with a small sample size, but he’s quickly making the No. 6 position his own ahead of the home Ashes campaign.

“He made his way into the side on the back of a lot of Sheffield Shield runs, so he’s got a lot of experience,” Australian captain Pat Cummins said during the post-match presentation.

“Even on a difficult wicket, the positive way he goes out and plays to keep the scoreboard ticking over, he’s a huge asset for our team.”

Cameron Green, currently serving as a specialist batter as he continues recovering from back surgery, has been Australia’s first-choice all-rounder since his Test debut in 2020, but Webster is threatening to take over the role.

It leaves Green at risk of slipping out of the starting XI if there’s another top-order reshuffle, because national selectors would be reluctant to move Travis Head, Steve Smith and Webster from the middle order.

Since returning to the Test side earlier this month, Green has posted scores of 4, 0, 3 and 15 batting at No. 3, with Cummins suggesting before the match he would get an extended run at first drop.

However, the national selectors would be tempted to recall the axed Marnus Labuschage for the Ashes if Green can’t unearth some runs over the coming week.

PACE TRIO TOUTED FOR ‘RISE IN WEST INDIES CRICKET’

Ahead of the Bridgetown Test, newly-appointed captain Roston Chase revealed the West Indies were aiming for a top-six finish in the upcoming World Test Championship cycle.

Having placed eighth in each of the three previous editions of the competition, qualifying for the 2027 final was deemed an unrealistic expectation for the Caribbean team.

“We said that we would try to set some realistic goals that are not too far beyond our reach,” Chase told reporters on Tuesday.

For the West Indies to have any chance of improving their position on the World Test Championship standings, they’ll need to consistently take 20 wickets — and based on what occurred in the Frank Worrell Trophy series opener, they’ve found a bowling attack that’s capable of getting the job done.

Gabba hero Shamar Joseph once again terrorised the Australian top-order with nine scalps in Bridgetown — and he was unlucky not to take more. He currently averages 23.92 with the ball in the Test career, with that figure slipping to 16.27 against the Australians.

Sharing the new ball is Jayden Seales, who boasts a phenomenal strike rate of 38.7 and took a five-wicket haul on day one in Barbados. Only two cricketers in Test history have more wickets at a better strike rate than Seales — England’s George Lohmann and New Zealand’s Shane Bond.

The experienced Alzarri Joseph, who already has more than 110 Test wickets under his belt, rounds out the trio, who receive support from fellow seamer Justin Greaves.

“I’m so enthused about this West Indies bowling battery that we’re seeing now,” former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree said in commentary.

“If we can see these guys for the next four, even five years performing at their very best, we could see a rise in West Indies cricket in this format, a format they have done horribly in the last few (World Test Championship) cycles.”

Speaking at stumps on day two, Seales recalled a telling conversation with his father about the current West Indies bowling attack.

“My dad actually told me just last night it’s probably the best he’s seen us bowl as a group, as a unit,” Seales said.

“We’re not giving batsmen a lot of chances to score. We’ve been on the money most of the time.”

AUSSIE BOWLERS BAIL OUT BATTERS YET AGAIN

The cracks in Australia’s top order batting were once again paved over by the brilliance of the big three seamers in captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

The latter was the hero of the final innings as he ran riot while the daylight dimmed in Barbados with his 13th five-wicket haul in Tests.

Hazlewood ripped the heart out of the West Indies top order with a devastating five-over burst from the Joel Garner End that netted four scalps for only five runs.

Big Bird himself would have been impressed as Hazlewood’s reliable formula of relentless accuracy on an up-and-down pitch made life hell for the West Indies batters.

“I think once we saw the West Indies take the second new ball today, we thought things could happen, but not that fast,” laughed Hazlewood, who acknowledged the lively pitch.

“There’s enough in the wicket, up-and-down from a length. Just about hitting that area time and time again and be patient.

“There’s a few cracks on a length from one end, some went low and got a few bowleds and LBWs.”

The blistering spell was a reminder of Hazlewood’s class following criticism from the likes of former teammate Mitchell Johnson of his selection for the World Test Championship final over Scott Boland.

Hazlewood’s injury woes last summer and playing the Indian Premier League in the lead-in to the London showpiece and this tour raised concerns about his fitness.

But the 34-year-old yet again showed why he is an automatic selection when fit.

“He’s just been a great servant for Australia,” Blewett said of Hazlewood.

“He’s had a few soft tissue issues of recent times, but hopefully now he can string a run of games together.”

Badree continued: “He always asks questions of the batters.

“They don’t have a ball or two in the over they can leave alone where they get a little mental break.

“There are always challenges – inside edge and outside edge – when he is bowling so you have to concentrate.

“If you do that often enough, you’re going to get a moment of lapse of concentration.”

The bowling group’s efforts across the entire match to dismiss the hosts for 190 and 141 also sent a clear message to the team’s batters — please just give us something to bowl at.

Travis Head, Beau Webster and Alex Carey fought and scrapped to set a target of 301, but it was otherwise another disappointing performance from Australia’s top order.

Teenager opener Sam Konstas was dismissed for single figures in both innings, the recalled Josh Inglis threw his wicket away with reckless strokes, while Cameron Green is yet to convince sceptics he’s a top-three batter.

Australian selectors dropped Marnus Labuschagne ahead of the series opener, but the brave call didn’t rectify the team’s lingering top-order headaches.

THE WINDIES’ ‘INCFECTIOUS’ SLIPS PROBLEM

Catches win matches.

The West Indies were guilty of putting down seven dropped catches during the series opener against Australia, each of which occurred in the slips cordon.

Early on day three at Kensington Oval, Justin Greaves put down a regulation chance at second slip to hand Australian vice-captain Travis Head a massive reprieve on 22.

“It’s infectious,” former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite said in commentary.

“Even then, they wouldn’t catch the infection.”

Head rubbed salt into the wounds by racing towards a half-century, adding 102 runs alongside all-rounder Beau Webster for the fifth wicket

“This is just heartbreaking,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said.

“The West Indies have played so well in this game — and bowled particularly well — but the catches just kept going down … it could have been a lot different.”

The West Indies were seen practising their slips catching ahead of play on Friday morning, with coach Darren Sammy keeping a watchful eye over the training session.

As revealed in commentary, the West Indies have been the least efficient Test side in the slips cordon since the start of 2023, only taking 64.7 per cent of chances that have come their way.

“We slipped up in terms of the fielding,” West Indies captain Roston Chase confessed during the post-match press conference.

“We dropped too many catches and we didn’t take the chances when they came. You can’t drop good batters at this level and give them two innings to bat.”

Catching efficiency in the slips cordon since 2023

80.6 per cent – India

78.5 per cent – New Zealand

78.3 per cent – Sri Lanka

75.0 per cent – South Africa

74.5 per cent – England

72.3 per cent – Australia

68.0 per cent – Pakistan

67.2 per cent – Bangladesh

64.7 per cent – West Indies

TRAVIS ADDS ANOTHER POTM AWARD TO HIS CABINET

In a low-scoring match, Travis Head showed his class with a pair of counterpunching fifties, rescuing the Australians yet again on day three at Kensington Oval.

The tourists were in a precarious position at 3-57 when Head walked to the crease on Thursday evening, with the South Australian surviving through to stumps to stem the flow of wickets.

“I was desperate to make sure I was able to get through to stumps, I thought it was a really important period,” Head later explained.

“I just wanted to try and get a bit of momentum back in our changeroom.”

The following morning, Head launched into a trademark rescue mission, forming a century partnership alongside all-rounder Beau Webster for the fifth wicket. The left-hander repeatedly attacked through the covers whenever width was offered, reaching his half-century in just 77 deliveries.

Time and time again, Head has dug Australia out of trouble, adding to his growing list of counterpunching knocks that came in challenging conditions following an early collapse — Hobart 2022, Brisbane 2023 and the unforgettable World Cup final in Ahmedabad, to name a few.

An unplayable delivery from West Indies seamer Shamar Joseph, which essentially rolled along the ground, was required to end Head’s stay at the crease.

Taking over the vice-captaincy in the absence of the injured Steve Smith, Head once again demonstrated why he’s considered a leader within the Australian camp.

“The added leadership is what’s really impressed me,” Blewett said in commentary.

“Both innings he’s walked out under a lot of pressure. The top order for Australia is very inexperienced and they just didn’t get going in this match.

“He’s looked ultra-steady, hard to get through, good defence.

“He’s had a great game.”

Head was later named player of the match, the tenth time he’s achieved the feat in Tests, more often than the likes of Mitchell Johnson, David Warner and Michael Clarke.

“I felt like I left a couple (of runs) out there,” Head laughed during the post-match presentation.

“I try to contribute every time I play, the same pressure wherever I go.

“Every time I go out to bat, I try to hold myself accountable.

“It’s nice to be contributing in a win … it was a tough week with the bat, so nice to be in the runs.”