Usman Khawaja, Australia’s opener, scored a half-century as his team overcame the loss of David Warner early on to defeat a revamped West Indies assault in Adelaide’s day-night Test. On a sluggish but lively Adelaide Oval pitch, Khawaja was mostly trouble-free in the opening session of the game after acting captain Steven Smith decided to bat.
In the last over before the dinner break, he completed his 19th Test half-century after surviving an early short-ball barrage from West Indies fast Alzarri Joseph. This allowed him to eclipse 1000 Test runs for the year. As he and Marnus Labuschagne, who struck a double century and a tonne in the first Test, anticipated a long term at the wicket, Khawaja took advantage of the West Indies bowlers’ inconsistency.
But in his attempt to end an almost three-year Test century drought, Warner once more wasted a golden opportunity and fell cheaply. Warner, who was in the news on match day but seemed especially concentrated, was watchful, getting just 9 runs off his first 23 balls before blasting three boundaries off an increasingly ragged Joseph.
Warner, though, was taken aback when, in an awkward dismissal, he was caught behind for 21 while pursuing a wide ball from Joseph. Labuschagne played conservatively in the middle of the session against better West Indies bowling following his dominant performance in Perth. Kraigg Brathwaite, the captain, made the perplexing decision to choose Roston Chase, a spinner, as the first change bowler.
But despite his pace bowlers eventually finding the correct length to stop Khawaja, who was stranded on 49 for 26 deliveries, it turned out to be a lackluster effort. West Indies quicks failed to regularly pose a danger to Australia’s top order, mirroring their performance in the 164-run first-Test loss. They aimed a short length and refrained from trying to summon an early swing with the pink ball, encouraged by a bounce akin to a tennis ball.
Later in the afternoon, though, Anderson Phillip—playing in just his second Test match—impressed as his tight line and lengths limited the scoring. It was a much-needed pick-me-up for an injured West Indies team, whose problems were made worse when debutant quick Marquina Mindley had to leave the field after only bowling two overs due to what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
As injury insurance for the struggling tourists, Mindley arrived in Adelaide on Monday from the Caribbean. Phillip also replaced Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales, who both suffered injuries in the first Test. Devon Thomas, a middle-order hitter, also made his debut.
Both teams made numerous substitutions. Australia’s regular captain Pat Cummins was unable to recover from a quad strain he sustained during the first Test, and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to general soreness after the West Indies batted for more than 200 overs over the course of two innings in Perth.
While former captain Smith took over from Cummins, as he did in the Ashes Test in Adelaide last summer, seamers Scott Boland and Michael Neser added to the Test matches they played against England last summer.