Seales’ late strikes bring WI level with Australia

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC):

Jayden Seales put the exclamation mark on a sterling West Indies fightback against Australia to leave their Test match enthrallingly poised at the end of play on the second day here at the National Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Seales prised out the wickets of openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja in the dying minutes to reduce Australia to 12 for two, after the West Indies were dismissed for 253 to concede a first-innings lead of 33 runs.

It left Australia with an overall lead of 45 heading into today’s third day, and the match squarely in the balance.

West Indies would have been satisfied with the day’s proceedings having been on the backfoot for almost the entire day.

Starting the day with high hopes of challenging Australia’s first-innings total of 286, opener Kraigg Brathwaite would have been anticipating a substantial score playing in his 100th Test match.

Unfortunately, he played a brief, forgettable knock, driving a delivery from pacer Josh Hazlewood back to the bowler to be caught and bowled without troubling the score.

John Campbell and Keacy Carty looked fluent during a 33-run stand for the second wicket, before the latter was unlucky to be dismissed by a spectacular bit of fielding from Pat Cummins.

Carty’s defensive prod ricocheted off the inside edge of the bat into his pads and ballooned into the air on the legside, only for Cummins to cover tremendous ground before leaping full stretch to take a stunning one-handed catch just centimetres off the ground, to leave the home side 40 for two.

Campbell looked en route to his fourth Test half-century, having stroked five fours and one six in his knock of 40 off 52 balls, until he inexplicably walked down the pitch to pacer Beau Webster and could only sky his attempted flick to mid on where Mitchell Starc took an easy catch to make it 64 for three.

Brandon King along with his captain Roston Chase ensured they were no further losses, taking the score to 110 for three at the lunch break, with King unbeaten on 39.

Almost immediately after resumption with just one run added to the total, Hazlewood trapped Chase plumb leg before wicket for 16.

His dismissal brought Shai Hope to the crease and together with King, the pair looked unbothered during a 58-run partnership that threatened to take the advantage away from Australia.

King rushed to his maiden Test half-century with a six off Hazlewood and a boundary over gully off Starc.

However, just as they looked to up the ante, Hope was bowled for 21 by an inswinger from Pat Cummins that burst through his defence, as the Windies slipped to 169 for five.

And without a run added, spinner Nathan Lyon snared King’s wicket, courtesy of a review, with Ultra Edge showing that the ball grazed his glove through to the wicketkeeper.

King faced 108 balls for his 75 and struck eight fours and three sixes.

When Lyon dismissed Justin Greaves for just one, West Indies had slumped to 174 for seven and were in danger of conceding a healthy first-innings lead.

But Shamar Joseph, who made 29 along with Alzarri Joseph, who scored 27, put on 51 valuable runs for the eighth wicket to bring West Indies within sight of Australia’s total.