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Australia and West Indies might be 24 hours away from finding out which attack holds its nerve longest on a pitch that refuses to settle. After two days of variable bounce in Bridgetown, Travis Head and Beau Webster will start the third morning with Australia 82 runs ahead, and neither camp expects the surface suddenly to turn friendly.
“We saw yesterday on day one the ball shoot low and then the next over it jumped up and created a wicket. I think that’ll probably be the same tomorrow,” Mitchell Starc said, trying to frame the contest rather than predict it. “I think there’s enough chances [being created] as we’ve seen for the last two days, that you’re never quite in and you never know what total is going to be enough.”
Starc drew an immediate comparison with Lord’s, where the World Test Championship final earlier this month flipped dramatically when sunshine arrived. There, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma calmly reeled in a tricky target, helped by a newly docile surface. Starc’s sense is that Bridgetown will not grant the same reprieve.
“I think the wicket at Lord’s was very flat when the sun came out,” he said. “I certainly found it easy to bat on. This [one], we’ve seen these two days, there’s so much variable [bounce] there.”
Head and debutant Webster patched together 27 runs late on the second evening, steadying Australia after Shamar Joseph’s latest burst. Joseph removed Sam Konstas – again – to make it two dismissals in as many innings for the young opener, who has managed 3 and 5. The Barbadian crowd roared; the West Indies coach sighed.
When asked what West Indies might happily chase, Daren Sammy could only smile. “I would love to chase 82. Somebody get a double-hat-trick or something.” Humour hid a deeper frustration, most of it directed at his slip cordon. Six chances have gone down, five off Joseph, including two reprieves for Konstas before he eventually edged another lifter.
“Pretty sure they are going to get a nice bollocking. Not too angry, but for sure, it’s an attitude,” Sammy said of his fielders. “The same way you practise your batting and your bowling, fielding and catching becomes equally important. Catching at slip is a skill. As somebody who fielded there, it’s a skill we constantly have to work on, putting time in it.
“Good teams will make you pay. So far, it’s not been too costly, but this is something that in order for us to improve on the goals that we have for this team, this is going to continue. Our catching efficiency has to go up.”
Joseph’s pace and lift have been the standout features of the match, complemented by Kemar Roach’s late swing. Yet Australia’s attack – Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – believe any lead over 150 could prove decisive. With Nathan Lyon’s off-spin also in play on a surface already cracked, they want fast, accurate runs in the first session, then the ball back in their hands.
Tactically, the visitors are unlikely to stray from simple methods: hard lengths, stumps in play, catchers crowding batters who never feel set. West Indies, though, might ponder a promotion for Jason Holder to stiffen the middle order, should the target remain within reach. Holder looked comfortable for his 34 on the opening day before Hazlewood pinned him lbw.
One subplot is the clash of batting philosophies. Australia have tried to impose themselves, illustrated by Head’s fondness for the cut shot even on a misbehaving pitch. Konstas has been more circumspect yet still fell twice pushing forward. For the hosts, Alick Athanaze sparkled briefly, while debutant Mikyle Louis showed solid technique and may have more to give.
Whatever individual battles emerge, the contest feels governed by seamers of both sides. If the ball keeps darting and scuttling, totals around 200 could look imposing. A bright Bridgetown sky might lull players into expecting easier conditions, but those who have survived two testing days are not banking on it.
Starc’s closing thought summed up Australia’s plan: milk the morning, squeeze the afternoon. “There was a little bit of a partnership there with Beau and Trav there at the end, so hopefully that can continue in the morning and then push it as far as we can [with] some lower-order runs and then go from there.”
Sammy, meanwhile, trusts his bowlers to offer more of the same – and hopes his catchers follow suit, minus the drops. Only then will he learn whether his light-hearted wish for an 82-run pursuit has been granted, or whether West Indies face something far tougher on a surface that seems in no mood for charity.
