On the opening day of the Adelaide Test, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins torched the West Indies middle and lower order, resulting in an implosion of 5 for 26. However, the visitors reached 177/9 in the prolonged afternoon session thanks to a tenacious 44-run unbeaten stand for the final wicket.
Before lunch, Kirk McKenzie and debutant Kavem Hodge formed a formidable fourth-wicket partnership that withstood Australia for nearly an hour. Additionally, the former amassed fifty runs during a costly over bowled by Nathan Lyon, which contained two exquisite boundary smashes.
Nevertheless, Hodge’s dismissal by Hazlewood had already put an end to their defiant stand just before that. Following a patient middle outing, the batter’s poor judgment resulted in a thick outside edge to a crevice while attempting to drive off a full ball outside off. McKenzie, too, was dismissed shortly after reaching the milestone, falling nine runs behind as both set batters failed.
Hazlewood obtained his fourth on the opposite side of refreshments when second-year West Indies debutant Justin Greaves aimlessly drove away from the body and provided a regulation catch to short cover.
Cummins dismissed Alzarri Joseph and Joshua da Silva in consecutive overs at the opposing end. The former, who was set up with the short ball stratagem, ultimately completed a deep square leg with a straight drive, whereas the latter eased to a second slip. Mitchell Starc captured Gudakesh Motie, his sole victim of the innings thus far, between the two.
Shamar Joseph, with the afternoon session down to one wicket, decided to frustrate the Australians and enthrall the audience by extending it by thirty minutes. Shamar, making his third appearance of the match for the Windies, accepted Hazlewood’s short ball challenge and promptly hit two boundaries before launching a six over the cow corner. The audacious knock delivered by the no. 11 stands in striking contrast to the other batsmen, who failed to demonstrate any effort and repeatedly squandered starts despite gaining an early advantage.
Brief scores:
West Indies 177/9 (Kirk McKenie 50, Shamar Joseph 31*; Josh Hazlewood 4-44, PAt Cummins 4-36) vs Australia
