Australia's Pace and Strategy Overwhelm West Indies in Rapid Test Finish
Three days. That’s all it took for Australia to silence West Indies in Barbados. The visitors came in with questions about their batting, but by the end it was their pace—especially Josh Hazlewood’s—that stole the show. The scoreboard told a brutal story: Australia 180 and 310, West Indies 190 and a meager 141 in their chase for 300. The margin—159 runs—barely reflected how lopsided it felt by the finish.
Josh Hazlewood, cool as ever, zipped through the West Indies lineup, snatching a brilliant 5/43 in the final innings. He didn’t try to get fancy—just kept hammering away at the stumps. Batsmen groped for answers as the ball nipped and seamed, particularly under new-ball conditions that made batting pure survival. Hazlewood later mentioned that facing the fresh ball was a nightmare—something the home batters learned the hard way as they slid from steady to shell-shocked in quick time.
Middle-Order Muscle Supports Australia’s Attack
Australia’s top order may have wobbled, but the engine room fired up when it counted. Alex Carey (65), Beau Webster (63), and Travis Head (61) steadied things in the second innings. Their runs put the game far out of West Indies’ reach, showcasing Australia’s unmatched batting depth even when the openers looked shaky. On a pitch that spat and fizzed under the Caribbean sun, these blokes grafted, sweated, and cashed in when the bad balls came.
For the West Indies, it was another case of flashes of hope followed by cold reality. Shamar Joseph tried to spark a fightback with a punchy 44, but the rest of the lineup folded around him. Captain Roston Chase had reason to commend his own bowlers—especially after Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja were dislodged late on day two—but Australia’s lineup proved longer and tougher than expected. With Nathan Lyon cleaning up the tail alongside Hazlewood, there were precious few moments for the home crowd to cheer.
What really stood out was how methodical Australia’s bowlers were. Their plans were simple: attack the stumps, make batsmen play, and give nothing away. The *Australia* pace attack, led by Hazlewood, found movement even without wild swing, exploiting every sliver of opportunity. Meanwhile, Lyon’s off-spin delivered the late blows that snuffed out any hope of resistance.
This win doesn’t just put Australia 1-0 up in the series—it sends a message about their discipline and bench strength, even when their top-order starts slow. As for West Indies, there’s no hiding from the need to tighten up both with bat and ball if they want to bounce back.