Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland spent the better part of Monday morning making each other – and most of Sabina Park – shake their heads in disbelief. Starc tore through West Indies with career-best figures of 6 for 9, collecting the quickest five-for ever recorded in men’s Tests (15 balls). Boland, brought on only after the home side had already slumped to 23 for 6, responded with a maiden Test hat-trick. Australia duly won by 176 runs and completed a 3-0 series sweep.
West Indies’ 27 all out is the second-lowest Test total on record, one clear of New Zealand’s 26 back in 1955. A dire morning for the hosts became something of a bowling exhibition for Australia.
Key moments before the deep dive
• Starc removed Kraigg Brathwaite with the first ball of the innings – the fourth time he has done so in Tests.
• The left-armer needed a mere 19 deliveries to claim his six wickets.
• Boland became the 10th Australian to take a Test hat-trick, sending down three balls of relentless accuracy and seam movement.
• Justin Greaves, with 11, was the only West Indian to reach double figures.
• Pat Cummins’ side have now won seven consecutive Tests since the New Year.
‘Unreal’ was Boland’s word of choice for Starc’s spell, even as he dealt with his own bit of history. “I was bit nervous on that last ball, but yeah amazing feeling,” he told the host broadcaster. Moments later, still short of breath, he added: “[I was] just trying to keep concentrating and keep putting balls in good areas. I felt like I started a little bit slow from that end yesterday. So, yeah, happy to start off well.”
How the hat-trick unfolded
Ball one: Greaves, who had looked organised, was forced into a firm defensive stroke on off stump. The ball nipped and bounced, clipping the edge for a straightforward take at second slip.
Ball two: From round the wicket, Boland jagged one back into Shamar Joseph’s front pad. The on-field decision was not out; ball-tracking showed it thumping the top of middle. Decision overturned.
Ball three: Wide of the crease, fuller length, shaping in. Jomel Warrican shouldered arms late and heard the top of off stump disappear. Classic, almost textbook stuff.
Starc, for his part, looked as astonished as anyone. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?” he said, gesturing towards Boland after being named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series. “He would have played so many more Test matches in another team. But every time he comes in, he’s on the money, like we saw this week, a hat-trick, he’s never far from the perfect length as soon as he comes in. He’s preparing all the time to play and this week he got his opportunity and showed what what a wonderful Test bowler he is.”
The raw numbers paint a blunt picture. West Indies lasted 80 deliveries. Twelve of those were maidens. Only three boundaries were struck, and all came before the score had reached 20. The pitch was lively but hardly treacherous; in truth, Australia’s new-ball pair simply landed it on a probing length, got modest seam movement, and let the pressure do the rest.
Captain Pat Cummins, who watched much of the chaos from mid-off, was pleased for his rarely-used team-mate. “That was great,” he said at the presentation. “He’s had a couple of moments where he just gets on a roll. And today, that was three classic Scotty Boland wickets. All right, at the stumps or not far away. Really happy for him. He’s spent a lot of time running the drinks in the past year or two when the other three guys are fit. But we know his quality when he when he does com”
Series context and next steps
Australia arrived in the Caribbean with the series already secured but have still managed to tick off several personal milestones. Starc’s 350th Test wicket, Boland’s first hat-trick, and Cameron Green’s maiden overseas century (in Bridgetown) all sit neatly in the scorebook. The squad heads home later this week for a short break before regrouping for the limited-overs tour of India.
West Indies, meanwhile, face searching questions. Brathwaite spoke pre-series about batting time; his side totalled 652 runs across six innings. Injuries to key quicks did not help, though the batting frailties were plain. A domestic first-class block starts next month, and several incumbents may need runs there to keep their Test spots.
For now, the day – and indeed the series – belongs to Starc and Boland. One found late-career zip with the new ball; the other, once again, squeezed every ounce of assistance from a surface that rewarded discipline. No fuss, little flourish, and, just occasionally, something approaching unreal.
