West Indies end 2022 on a losing note
West Indies tour of Australia
Day 4 of 2nd Test Match
Venue: Adelaide Oval, South Australia
Result: Australia won by 419 runs
Series: Australia won 2-0
Player of the Match: Travis Head
Player of the Series: Marnus Labuschagne
Scorecard: https://bit.ly/ausvwi2ndtest
The year ended on a low note for West Indies as they went down to Australia before lunch on Sunday in the pink ball Test match. Resuming the day on 38-4 in the second innings, West Indies offered little resistance to the relentless Aussie bowling attack and were dismissed out for 77. No batsman made it to 20 as seamers Michael Neser (3-22) and Mitchell Starc (3-29) made inroads.
Needing a heroic effort to survive the match, West Indies found themselves in even deeper trouble in the third over of the afternoon when Devon Thomas drove at a wide delivery from left-armer Starc and edged behind, after adding four to his overnight eight. Four overs later, Jason Holder (11) was bowled by Starc, to leave West Indies on 49-6. Joshua Da Silva (15) and Roston Chase (11) then kept Australia at bay for 50 minutes. The pair added 20 for the seventh wicket but when they fell the innings came to a swift close.
DISAPPOINTING
“It was a disappointing second game for sure. I thought in the first game in Perth we showed some fight which was good to see and we had really hoped to bring that kind of approach into this day/night match here in Adelaide,” captain Kraigg Brathwaite said. “Unfortunately, in the second game we lost some guys to injury but I’m very disappointed. We didn’t see the fight here at all. It’s not the best of ends to a good Test year for us but we’ve got to continue to work.”
BOTTOM LINE
The series defeat meant West Indies closed the year with a record of three wins, two draws and two defeats in Test cricket for 2022. Earlier in the year they beat England 1-0 and Bangladesh 2-0 at home. The next step is preparations for tours of Zimbabwe in January and on to South Africa in February. (Westindies Cricket)
