Key events
9th over: West Indies 9-1 (Chanderpaul 5, McKenzie) Captain Cummins replaces Starc. He’s around the wicket with three slips and a gully. There’s no let up in this Aussie bowling attack. Cummins bookends the over by beating the outside edge.
“Hi James”
Hello to you Rohan O’Farell!
“Loving this coming on today, the house is full of family hunkering down waiting for the cyclone to appear! Space in front of the TV (and decision making rights on what to watch) are at a premium. Hope the West Indies can post something approaching competitive that makes for a contest.”
Here’s hoping Rohan, and also that the gnarly weather passes you by. Glad to have you on board with us.
8th over: West Indies 9-1 (Chanderpaul 5, McKenzie) A wicket maiden for Hazlewood and first blood to Australia. Kirk Mckenzie arrives at the crease and survives the rest of the over.
WICKET! Brathwaite c Carey b Hazlewood 4 (West Indies 9-1)
It was coming… Brathwaite plays a half hearted drive to a Hazlewood stock delivery and serves only to feather an edge through to Carey behind the sticks! The pressure told in the end, seventeen dots in a row for the Windies skipper preceded his demise.
7th over: West Indies 9-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 5) The pressure cooker starts to hiss as Starc sends down another maiden. Something’s gotta give soon.
6th over: West Indies 9-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 5) A one handed slice through point brings Chanderpaul three runs. Hazlewood tests out the middle of the pitch and the ball steeples onto the splice as Brathwaite gets in behind it well enough.
5th over: West Indies 6-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 2) Just a single off Starc’s third over as Chanderpaul drives compactly into the off side. Starc responds by whipping one past his outside edge.
Get the Ferrero Rocher’s out – Don of the OBOs Rob Smyth is over on the other channel calling the early knockings between India and England. Knockings it is too – out of the corner of me peeper I can see Crawley and Duckett giving it some tap in Hyderabad. Yes you can have a quick squizz… as long as you promise to come back – I’ve a feeling this one is going to liven up soon.
4th over: West Indies 5-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 1) Australia burn a review hoping that Brathwaite got a tickle down the leg side to Alex Carey off Hazlewood. No dice – the ball clipped the hip not the blade. Chanderpaul opens his account with a plinked edge into the leg side. Fidgety stuff so far from the visitors but they are unscathed.
3rd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 0) Brathwaite plays and misses at another full ball and then squirts an edge from a back of length ball that doesn’t carry to third slip. Starc stitches together a maiden – his pink ball record is exemplary: 61 wickets @ a lick over 18s. When those floodlights come on later he’ll be licking his lips once more.
2nd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 4, Chanderpaul 0) Cripes! The first ball from Josh Hazlewood thuds into Brathwaite’s front pad and is given out by the on field umpire but the decision is overturned. There was a sizeable inside edge. Jittery start for the visitors and the officials. My oh my. Next ball Brathwaite aims a booming drive but connects only with the Brisbane breeze. Settle down now. A clip to leg brings a couple to the Windies skipper and he pokes to mid-on for a single to keep the strike. The ball is zipping through off the surface, don’t go anywhere.
Although already having one shocker – Hope Shahid Saikat has a strong test as the first Bangladeshi umpire to stand in a test in Australia and second overall to stand internationally #AUSvWI
— Joshy (@the_joshy_boy) January 25, 2024
It was a bit of a shocker. Umpires have nerves/feelings too you know.
1st over: West Indies 1-0 (Brathwaite 1, Chanderpaul 0) Starc steams in with the afternoon sun on his back and there is sizeable movement from the off! The pink ball hooping and decking off a full length. Brathwaite knocks into the off side for a single and Chanderpaul does well to survive the rest of a probing over. This won’t be easy for the visitors.
Play is imminent. Just time for me to brew something dark and heavily caffeinated. The clock ticking round to 4am here in a black treacle skied south London. Mitchell Starc has the shiny pink orb in his south paw…
The players emerge onto the Gabba outfield for the anthems – poor Cameron Green has tested positive for covid but is still allowed to play, albeit he’s being made to keep his distance. ENTER JOKE HERE.
Here he is looking completely normal and at ease the toss.
A big first hour coming up for Kraigg Brathwaite, the skipper will stride out with his opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul very shortly and will be hoping to set a solid platform. I enjoyed this footage of him getting in the zone last night:
Some pre first ball reading:
Forgive the self plugging, I’ll crawl back under my bushel immediately. Shamar Joseph’s story is one to savour and his debut performance last week in Adelaide was a stirring one.
Joseph’s journey to that moment on the green turf of the Adelaide Oval is barely believable. Here’s a kid from the tiny remote village of Baracara in deepest Guyana, its population of about 350 people were isolated from much of the wider world until five years ago when mobile and internet coverage arrived. As a child, Joseph had happened upon some footage of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh doing their thing on a black and white TV and it changed his life.
Not right away of course, but the game had him in its clutches. Anyone who has ever tossed themselves an apple from the fruit bowl and imagined that they’ve just held a skier at the SCG or spun a nectarine from one hand to the other a la Shane Warne at the top of his mark will recognise what came next. Joseph bowled with anything he could get his hands on. At first this was lemons, limes and guava, later it was ad hoc games with a ball made of tightly wound tape.”
Teams: Australia unchanged, Kevin Sinclair given a Test debut for West Indies.
Australia Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
West Indies Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Kevin Sinclair, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shamar Joseph
Toss – West Indies win the toss and will bat first
Kraigg Brathwaite calls the coin correctly and decides to have first use of the facilities. The pitch isn’t as green in hue as it looked a day or so ago. He’ll be willing his side to knuckle down and post a competitive first innings score, give the Aussies something to think about.
As pitches & ice cream flavours go, the Gabba surface has gone from strong pistachio two days ago to more almond-pistachio (badam-pista for the Indians) right now #AusvWI pic.twitter.com/qpEY2spiFh
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 25, 2024
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the OBO of the first day of the second Test between Australia and West Indies. Who’s ready for some pink ball action at the Gabba? Well Pat Cummins’ side, that’s who. It’s been a golden year for Cummins and his men and one more victory in this Test will see a 5-0 scoreline returned in the home summer and the World Test Champs’ wagon will keep on rolling.
A spirited West Indies side stand in their way, perhaps some inclement weather too, although the forecast has improved a smidge in the last day or so. The pitch had a green tinge a few days out and when the lights crank into action a bit later on it could be lots of fun… for the bowlers.
Australia have an impeccable record in day/night Tests – they have won all eleven matches they have played with the pink ball, If West Indies are to challenge the Cummins juggernaut then they will have to improve with the bat and hope their bowlers can do the business in the gloaming, the heartening performance (and incredible story) of Shamar Joseph in Adelaide the blueprint to follow in Brisbane. I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a corker, fast and fun.
Jim here with the call for the first session and a bit, I’ll bring you news of the teams and toss very shortly. Play gets underway in a little over 30 minutes 2pm local time/3pm AEDT. Do drop me a line with any thoughts, theories or general musings. Let’s get stuck in!
