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Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins had all but destroyed
the West Indies’ first innings, but Shamar Joseph had an unforgettable opening
day at Adelaide Oval as the West Indies just about stayed up with Australia.
When he had new opener Steven Smith caught in the
slips, Shamar Joseph became the 23rd player in Test cricket history to strike
with his first delivery. Joseph had earlier scored 36 from No. 11 in a
final-wicket stand of 55 to rally the visitors from 133 for 9. Smith made a few
powerful pulls in his opening innings as an opener before going down in cricket
history.
Shamar Joseph’s day was far from over, though. By the
close of play, he had become a crowd favourite after adding Marnus Labuschagne
to his tally by top-edging a hook to long leg. If Usman Khawaja hadn’t been
dropped by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva on 3 in Alzarri Joseph’s opening over,
things would have turned out even better for the West Indies.
Recalled to No. 4, Khawaja and Cameron Green saw out
the final 30 minutes of the game. After putting the West Indies in to bat,
Australia managed to hold them to a low score, but they were not in a position
of dominance that seemed inevitable halfway through the day when Hazlewood
picked off several middle-order wickets, including his 250th Test wicket.
Given the sides’ differences in experience and
skill—Australia had 700 Test caps in their XI, while the West Indies had 246—of
which two players, Kraigg Brathwaite and Roach, held 168—there had been doubts
about the quality of the match.
After making a well-constructed maiden fifty in his
second Test match, left-hander Kirk McKenzie gave some encouragement to the
inexperienced visiting team. However, he was part of the afternoon session
slide against Hazlewood as West Indies lost 6 for 35, and attention soon turned
to Smith in his new opening role.
The last-wicket combination, however, faced surprising
opposition as they completed a lengthy session. Mitchell Starc gave 24-year-old
Shamar Joseph, who had only played five first-class matches, a rough
introduction to Test cricket when he cracked on his helmet. However, Joseph
rose to the occasion, taking Hazlewood for six over the leg side. It was the
second time in a row that Australia had let up a final-wicket stand of more
than 50 in Test cricket.
Australia appeared unstoppable as usual, only for West
Indies to suggest they may yet be able to have a say in how this game plays
out.