On Friday at the Adelaide Oval, Australia defeated the West Indies by a massive 10-wicket margin in the opening Test match thanks to Josh Hazlewood’s career-best red-ball cricket score of 9-79. In a Test that took slightly longer than two days, Australia’s polished effort saw Hazlewood take nine wickets and Head smash a hilarious ton of runs. Head’s forceful shots kept the opposing bowling line-up at bay, while Hazlewood’s mobility off the field destroyed the West Indies batting lineup.
After lunch, the Caribbean team had a score of 73/6, 22 runs behind. The visitors were under pressure as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood combined to take three wickets in the opening six overs.
Towards the conclusion, Shamar Joseph showed off his bat prowess by calmly finding the boundary line three times. The 24-year-old appeared ready to play a few more strokes, but Nathan Lyon’s spin beat him. West Indies scored 120 runs, leaving the hosts with a meager goal of just 26. With the intention of ending the West Indies’ suffering as soon as possible, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja took the crease.
Joseph was not given the chance to bowl with the new ball despite making an impression in the first innings by dismissing Smith with the first ball of his Test debut.
However, Travis Head changed the game for the hosts once more. His belligerent resolve kept the West Indies from figuring out how to escape and mounting an unannounced comeback. While the hosts scored 129 runs, the visitors took five wickets and put Australia in a difficult situation. Head came out swinging on a challenging track, scoring 119 from 134 deliveries with 12 boundaries and three maximums. Australia scored 283 thanks to his hit, giving them a commanding 95-run lead. Even so, Shamar Joseph, making his debut, helped the West Indies escape with a few wickets. Justin Greaves and Kemar Roach each scored two in addition to him.
Brief Score: Australia 283 & 26/0 (Steve Smith 11*, Usman Khawaja (retired hurt) 9) versus. West Indies 188 & 120 (Kirk McKenzie 26, Justin Greaves 24; Josh Hazlewood 5-35).
