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Lyon dropped, Hope takes stunning catch, Smith annoyed by lights — quick hits from West Indies vs Australia

Lyon dropped, Hope takes stunning catch, Smith annoyed by lights — quick hits from West Indies vs Australia

Nathan Lyon is left out of Australia's Test XI for the first time since 2013 as West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope takes a stunning catch.
Here are the quick hits from the day-night Test in Jamaica.
Nathan Lyon was dropped on two tours in 2013 — in India and England — but since then the off-spinner has been one of the first names on the Australian team sheet as he has climbed to seventh among all Test wicket-takers.
He is sitting on 562, third among Australians and one behind Glenn McGrath, but will have to wait until this summer's Ashes to try to claim second place after he was left out of the team for the third Test in Jamaica.
Pat Cummins and selectors opted for an all-pace attack with the pink ball under lights at Sabina Park, with Scott Boland coming in for his first Test since January.
A calf injury sidelined him for three games in 2023, but this marked the first time in 12 years that a fully fit Lyon missed a Test since that 2013 Ashes series in England.
Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja looked pretty scratchy in the opening overs in Kingston.
That almost came to a head in the fifth over when Konstas clipped to square leg and took off for a single, only for Khawaja to rightly send him back.
But Konstas was already committed and could only watch as John Campbell ran around, gathered the ball and threw at the striker's stumps, just missing.
Not content with being gifted a second life, Konstas then asked for and received a third when he drove at a ball outside off and got a thick edge into the slips cordon.
It flew in between debutant Kevlon Anderson and Justin Greaves, with the rookie diving and sticking his left hand out at third slip. The ball bounced out and actually hit Greaves at second slip, but it couldn't be reined in.
It was the 10th dropped catch for the West Indies in the series.
It was a first session of grit from the Australians, who were much more focused on preservation than run-scoring.
Both in desperate need of scores, Konstas and Khawaja poked and prodded, played and missed to score just 21 in the opening hour.
Not long after drinks, Konstas was caught plumb in front to Justin Greaves's very first delivery of the match.
It always looked out, but after consultation with his opening partner, he decided to send it upstairs.
Sure enough, three reds meant Australia had burnt a review and that might have been playing on Cam Green's mind only a matter of overs later.
Given out to one that looked much more likely to be overturned, Green waited until the very last second to ask the third umpire to have a look at it.
Thankfully for Green, the technology projected the delivery to be sliding down leg and the big number three was handed a life.
Khawaja had his fair share of luck in his painstaking innings of 23 from 92 deliveries.
He gritted his teeth and stood his ground through a colourful catalogue of plays and misses, and when he finally did get an edge on an angling Shamar Joseph special, he looked destined to survive that as well.
With the ball flying towards that uncomfortable gap between wicket-keeper and first slip, West Indies WK Shai Hope made the executive decision to fling himself forward, left and to the ball.
Fully outstretched, Hope managed to get his weaker glove underneath the fast-falling pink Dukes and Khawaja's uncomfortable vigil was over before sundown on day one.
Sabina Park received an upgrade in order to host a day-nighter, but there wasn't much time to test all the various bits and pieces involved before the third Test.
Steve Smith, the ultimate problem solver and finder, discovered a quirk of the ground as the lights took effect straight after dinner.
As he took his guard against Shamar Joseph, Smith took issue with something behind the bowler's arm, which is nothing new for him. But this time it wasn't an inattentive fan, rather an issue with the big analog clock.
One of the floodlights was causing a reflection or some glare off the clock face and distracting the Australian star.
Eventually, a match official, with some help from an Australian team staff member, found a massive black towel to cover up the offending timepiece and the game could finally resume.
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‘Never give up hope': Forgotten man in mix for Ashes recall amid Konstas doubts
‘Never give up hope': Forgotten man in mix for Ashes recall amid Konstas doubts

News.com.au

time3 hours ago

  • News.com.au

‘Never give up hope': Forgotten man in mix for Ashes recall amid Konstas doubts

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Cricket: Sam Konstas ends debut West Indies tour with a duck
Cricket: Sam Konstas ends debut West Indies tour with a duck

The Australian

time3 hours ago

  • The Australian

Cricket: Sam Konstas ends debut West Indies tour with a duck

Sam Konstas brought up his first 50 runs in the West Indies, unfortunately it was across six innings in three forgettable Tests for the teenage Australian opener who finished his first tour of the Caribbean with another duck and questions over his place ahead of the Ashes. As Cricket Australia confirmed there would be four rounds of Sheffield Shield matches before the opening Test in Perth in November, those matches could prove to be more important than ever to solidify an opening line-up to have faith in ahead of the five clashes with England. Australian captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald and batting coach Michael Di Venuto, all called for patience with Konstas, who lashed India on debut at the MCG but has battled in almost every innings since. Konstas made less runs than three of the home team's fast bowlers, less runs than Cummins, and faced just 145 balls, including 53 in the first innings in the final Test in Jamaica that were a painful experience for most to watch. Sam Konstas' struggles continued. Picture: Shamar Joseph. Picture: Randy Brooks / AFP He finished the series with a batting average of just 8.33, the lowest for an Australian opener in a Test tour of the West Indies since 1984. McDonald had flagged that the small sample size for Konstas, who ramped his way to a stunning 60 on debut against India, made it 'probably early for anyone to judge' the 19-year-old. But the coach also suggested that the start of the Sheffield Shield season could provide 'great opportunity' for someone to put their hand up ahead of the home Ashes and that now looms as the route Konstas may need to take to save his spot. 'There's great opportunity in domestic cricket at the start of the season, and there always is leading into any Test series,' McDonald said. 'We saw with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, there was opportunity for players to put their hand up there.' Australia A is also playing Sri Lanka A in Darwin, with the red-ball games featuring the likes of Nathan McSweeney, the man Konstas replaced midway through last summer's series against India. The worrying situation comes after former England fast bowler Stuart Broad said the Australian top order had never looked more 'muddled'. Usman Khawaja bowled by Shamar Joseph (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP) Veteran Usman Khawaja also only made 107 runs in the series, casting further clouds over the 38-year-old's future. Judgment could be reserved given the nature of the tough batting conditions throughout, with not a single century made by batters from either team. Australia only passed 300 once, and the West Indies' highest score has been 253. The home team was rolled for just 143 in the pink-ball Test in Jamaica, 89 runs behind Australia, who lost Konstas and Khawaja among six final session wickets as the West Indies bowlers took control. Australia finished at 6-99, Cameron Green unbeaten on 42 and Cummins on five, with a leads of 181.

Sam Konstas fails as Australia's top order collapses again during third Test against West Indies
Sam Konstas fails as Australia's top order collapses again during third Test against West Indies

West Australian

time4 hours ago

  • West Australian

Sam Konstas fails as Australia's top order collapses again during third Test against West Indies

Australia's selectors have four Sheffield Shield matches to sort their openers for the Ashes after the team's top order crumbled again under lights in Jamaica. The tourists went to stumps on night two at Sabina Park at 6-99 in their second innings, leading West Indies by 181 but with the game firmly in the balance. Sam Konstas was out for a duck and opening partner Usman Khawaja 14, before Cameron Green offered the only firm resistance with an unbeaten 42 in a chaotic final session. Australia's batting woes came after Scott Boland vindicated his selection at the expense of Nathan Lyon, claiming 3-34 to have the hosts out for 143. That handed Australia an 82-run first-innings lead in their pursuit of a 3-0 sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy, but also exposed the batters to an entire night session. And while the selectors appear to have got it right with the Boland call, much bigger questions loom ahead of the Ashes. Konstas was caught playing at a ball outside off stump, taking the teenager's total return for the series to 50 runs at 8.33. It's been a quick fall from grace for Konstas since his swash-buckling innings against India on Debut in December, which may have even hurt him in the long run, according to statistician Ric Findlay. 'Tentative and without belief. I'm afraid that debut 60 was the worst thing that could have happened to Sam,' he said. Khawaja followed four overs later when he played on to Joseph, leaving him with 123 runs at 15.37 in the four Tests dating back to Test Championship final. This tour has been brutal for batters on both sides, and is on track to be the first three-Test series without a century scored by either team in almost 30 years. Regardless of that, veteran Khawaja and youngster Konstas have done little to lock in Ashes selection. Cricket Australia announced the summer's domestic schedule on Monday, with four Shield rounds before the first Test in Perth on November 21. Runs in those games could be key for Konstas and Khawaja. Potential replacements Nathan McSweeney, Cameron Bancroft, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris and Marnus Labuschagne could also make their cases. There were some brief positives for Australia with the bat on Day 2. Green has grown in confidence as a No.3 on this tour, standing tall and driving superbly as Alzarri Joseph (3-19) wreaked havoc for everyone else. The West Australian had a difficult start to life at No.3 in the Test Championship final, but now has scores of 52, 46 and 42no from his last three innings. Joseph bowled Steve Smith off the right-hander's bat and pad for five, before trapping Beau Webster lbw for 13 and edging off Alex Carey for a duck. Carey was struck on the head first ball by Joseph, before he charged the quick and was caught at second slip to leave Australia 6-69. Pat Cummins (five not out) was lucky not to immediately follow when he gloved Joseph down legside but West Indies did not review it, while there was also a missed run-out chance. Earlier, Boland had been Australia's best with the ball as he used seam movement to remove the Windies' two top scorers in John Campbell (36) and Shai Hope (23). The Victorian angled a ball back at a leaving Campbell to have him lbw, before nipping one back between Hope's bat and pad to bowl him. Boland then finished the job by bowling Shamar Joseph, as the hosts lost 5-19 and Cummins and Josh Hazlewood finished with two wickets each.

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