Pressure mounts on Australia openers as lean run continues in third West Indies Test
After winning the toss and batting in the third and final Test in Jamaica, Australia went to dinner on the first evening at 138 for three with Konstas out for 17 and Khawaja 23.
Cameron Green was also bowled for 46 before the second break, with Steve Smith 36 not out and Travis Head unbeaten on three on a day where selectors made the shock call to leave out Nathan Lyon.
Still, all eyes remain on Australia's top order, with Khawaja's 47 in the first Test in Barbados the only score from either opener above 25 in this Frank Worrell Trophy series.
The 38-year-old Khawaja fought through a torrid opening session on Saturday (Sunday AEST), as the pink Dukes ball was moving and regularly beat the bat.
But the left-hander was superbly caught behind by Shai Hope on 23, edging a ball that was angled back in at him from around the wicket by Shamar Joseph.
Konstas had also shown signs of digging in, before being lbw for 17 after moving to an off-stump guard for this Test.
He at one stage faced 18 straight dot balls early, while surviving a run-out scare and edge to third slip on consecutive deliveries while on one.
Konstas threatened to find some rhythm when he hooked Alzarri Joseph's first ball for four and later punched the quick to the point boundary off the back foot.
But the 19-year-old fell lbw to Justin Greaves' first ball and his series average sits at just 10.
Khawaja's is 20.6, with one innings remaining in Australia's last Test before this summer's home Ashes.
Australia have battled with the opening spot since David Warner's retirement, after Smith's aborted move up the order last year and Nathan McSweeney's three Tests last summer.
Marnus Labuschagne also opened in the World Test Championship final loss to South Africa, for scores of 17 and 22 before being dropped.
The other chief talking point of Saturday was the omission of Lyon, with Scott Boland coming in for the day-night Test.
Sign up to The Spin
Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action
after newsletter promotion
Lyon has played every Test he has been fit for since the second Test of the 2013 Ashes, racking up 100 consecutive matches after that.
The spinner then suffered a calf tear at Lord's in 2023 and missed the final three Tests of that Ashes, before returning to the side for the start of the next summer.
While the day-night Tests are generally thought to suit the quicks under lights, Lyon has a better record with pink balls than red.
This Test is being played with a Dukes ball rather than a Kookaburra, with the Windies' two tweakers finding some turn.
Lyon has had strong returns of nine wickets at 18.33 in a series dominated by quicks, but bowled only 32.3 overs across two Tests.
West Indies also made a big call, dropping out-of-form ex-captain Kraigg Brathwaite, ending his run of 90 straight Tests.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Jofra Archer brings the X-factor and Washington Sundar will learn from his comments: BUMBLE ON THE TEST
England secured an impressive victory by 22 runs against India on the final day of the third Test. Ben Stokes made a major impact as he claimed three wickets, with India bowled out for 170. As usual, there were plenty of talking points from the day's action. Jofra Archer, for instance, showcased his qualities, with his raw pace a key asset. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar's claim that India would win the game easily didn't come to fruition. Mail Sport presents the latest edition of BUMBLE ON THE TEST. ICC should share broadcast wealth Test cricket, eh? Lord's full to the rafters for five glorious days. I implore the ICC to share the broadcast wealth to try and ensure a level playing field for all Test playing nations. It was terrific for South Africa to win the World Test Championship. Let's get back to the likes of Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and co getting on an equal footing to the big shots. Should there be punishments for misbehaviour? It is interesting that some former players, commentators and fans think it's great that emotions spilled over and there's animosity between the teams. Is it time for the umpires to issue yellow and red cards for player indiscretions, misbehaviour and verbal abuse? Mohammed Siraj was fined 15 per cent of his match fee. Don't tell us that. Tell us how much it is in cold cash. Jofra Archer brings the X-factor England have waited four years for Jofra Archer and he brings the X-factor. There is nothing like raw pace. He removed a top player in Yashasvi Jaiswal twice, for next to nothing, then bowled Rishabh Pant with a ripper. And how about the cracking catch off his own bowling to send Washington Sundar packing. A wonderful bowler and a fantastic athlete. Washington Sundar will learn from his comments Sticking with Sundar. The young man was brilliant with the ball then confidently declared that India would easily win the game easily. There was no doubt that England heard those comments because they let him know when he walked out to bat. Anyways, he lasted four balls. A classic case of keep quiet and let your talent do the talking on the pitch. I'm sure he'll learn. England players use Lime bikes Word got to me that Archer and a few of the England players have been using those Lime bikes to get to and from Lord's. I spend a lot of time in London and wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. I always thought they were a bloody menace and you see them parked anywhere and everywhere. Now I know what they're for - taking fast bowlers to cricket grounds. Ravindra Jadeja puts his experience to good use Search for a hero. Ravindra Jadeja drew on all of his experience. What a player and what a shift from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj with the bat too. A truly herculean effort from Ben Stokes and it was lovely that Shoaib Bashir took the final wicket. A Test Match for the ages and I was thrilled that they were all embracing each other at the end. A massive tick from me, fellas. On to Manchester. Pitch should be perfect for next Test I've been at Emirates Old Trafford and had a sneak preview of the pitch. At the moment, it is emerald green but don't worry. All of that grass will be off by next week. It should be easy-paced to start off with but we will get another five-day pitch and a result. India must play Kuldeep Yadav. Fingers crossed, the weather behaves. There's a hosepipe ban in some areas up north!
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii: I switched codes for games like the Lions
Even the star of the show can find himself a little starstruck. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is in a hotel in Brisbane, lowering himself into a top-table press conference seat next to Will Skelton, the massive Wallaby lock, when he realises how many journalists are in the room. It is British & Irish Lions Test week, and so everyone is piling into this small room on the third floor of the Wallabies' city centre base. Suaalii is enjoying this: he counts the Dictaphones placed in front of him, then takes his own picture of the assembled media. When he switched codes to become Rugby Australia's £900,000-a-year man — a contract which could rise in value if he re-signs from 2027 to 2029 — it was for this. Attention, spectacle, the biggest matches and occasions. Suaalii is 6ft 4in and 17st 4lb, a superb athletic specimen at 21, and exudes main-character aura, even if he stresses he is only one part of a team. He speaks clearly and confidently, and relishes the role he has been cast in. So how does it feel to be the saviour of rugby union in Australia, Joseph? 'The first thing is it's a team sport,' he says. 'It's not just me. I'm just trying to be my best self for my team-mates and that's it. I don't really buy into, you know, who's going to save this, who's going to do this. 'The Lions was probably the biggest carrot [to come to union]. I've always dreamed I wanted to be a part of something so special that happens every 12 years. 'I was nine [in 2013]. I remember watching it. In my house, at home in Penrith, all the young kids sit on the floor and I just remember being real close to the TV, watching it. It's something so special as a kid that sparks you to do something great in your life, so to be a part of this squad, it's amazing.' If Australians are looking for reasons to believe they can beat the Lions, Skelton is a good place to start, not least because his Champions Cup victories with La Rochelle over Leinster have greater significance against Andy Farrell's Irish-loaded Lions. Yet even a rugby figure as experienced and successful as Skelton cannot hide his excitement at Suaalii's involvement in this series. 'He does all right, doesn't he?' Skelton says. 'He's himself, he's not being anyone else, even when he is wearing his Louis Vuitton and singing his album, he's being him. He's a great asset to have in the team.' Suaalii is trying to stay 'neutral' and chilled, because he knows what happens when he is too amped up. In Suaalii's only State of Origin rugby league game, for New South Wales against Queensland last June, he lasted seven minutes before committing one of the most dangerous tackles seen in Australian rugby league. The threshold for being sent off is so high that only six players have ever been dismissed in 45 years of Origin matches — but Suaalii's shoulder to the head of Queensland's star man, Reece Walsh, was genuinely shocking. There is the potential for personal confrontation in the first Test on Saturday if Sione Tuipulotu is in the Lions team. The pair of Australian-born centres went at it, as they say over here, when Scotland played the Wallabies in November, with one battle culminating in Suaalii telling Tuipulotu, 'I'll see you next time, mate'. Tuipulotu has spoken about it on podcasts, and how he wants another pop at Suaalii, but has been told by Eoin Toolan, who was his analyst at the Melbourne Rebels but now works for Joe Schmidt's Wallabies, to stop mentioning it as Suaalii will be listening, and out to get him. Suaalii does not want to go there on this personal rivalry in public. But Skelton is the hype man. 'Ah, that's what you want, isn't it? Our 12s going against their 12s, 13s against 13s,' he says. 'No matter what, it's going to be a physical battle and we're up for the challenge.' Suaalii plays it down. 'Once you do things on the footie field, you keep them on the footie field. I am ready to go and play,' he explains. 'I always focus on myself first before I put energy into something else. Obviously fans want to see a rivalry, but at the end of the day it is a team sport. Whatever is said on the field, stays on the field. 'The biggest thing I learned from Origin was my off-field prep and the way I was leading into that week just taught me a lot about myself leading into these big games. It is just about being neutral — not being too high or too low, and not playing the game before playing it.' Suaalii's process now involves a 'grounding' ceremony, where he stands barefoot between one set of posts before a game, listening to meditation incantations. 'I am a pretty weird person,' Suaalii says. 'I like to take in the crowd, where I am right now. I like to connect with the ground and just be where I am right now with my feet. I don't want to look too far ahead or look too far back. It's all about being as present as I can.' The next part of his pre-match routine is juggling three tennis balls. 'That's just hand-eye, just getting my stuff going with my peripheral vision and getting all those little details that you get on the footie field because you're going to a lot of different pictures on the footie field,' he explains. Suaalii realises that he is here to promote the game, the code, and Australian sport. He is ready to embrace all of it. The Australians desperately want — maybe need — him to light up this series. 'These are the biggest games,' he says. 'It happens every 12 years, it is so exciting just for the young Australians and the kids that have played rugby and are trying to be the next Wallabies. It is so exciting for that next generation and even old Wallabies watching it too.'
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Is this Australia's hottest WAG? Glamorous influencer wows the social scene after confirming romance with rugby star
Sammy Robinson has hard-launched her relationship with Chiefs rugby star Shaun Stevenson. The Aussie influencer and fashion designer, 29, took to Instagram to share a sweet image in which she posed with her rugby beau, 28, who is a New Zealand rugby union player and outside back for North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup. Sammy cheered on Shaun as he took to the field against the British Lions on Saturday, and it was the perfect opportunity to share a photo of the pair, who both wore giant smiles on their faces. 'He got me new shoes,' the One Mile founder captioned the post, which showed the social media star wearing yellow and green Adidas sneakers similar in colour to Shaun's rugby kit. It comes just a few months after Sammy told the Daily Telegraph 's Sydney Confidential that she planned on keeping her relationship private. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Never say never. I may post him or I may not,' she revealed at the time. 'I've recently said until I know for a fact you're going to be the one, I don't think I'll post them again. 'You don't just post whoever anymore and I'm careful now because there is just too much scrutiny,' she added. It is not known how long Sammy and Shaun have been dating, however the pair have recently been leaving little Easter egg clues on social media. Sammy made a statement in December as she rang in the New Year in style, attending The Island X Pelicano New Year's Day party in Sydney. The Aussie influencer was dressed to impress in a sultry black cut-out frock. Her bold ensemble featured a halter neckline with gold embellishments and a daring central cut-out that highlighted her toned abs. The asymmetric hemline added an edgy touch to the look, perfectly complementing the warm summer vibes of the waterfront celebration. Sammy made a statement in December as she rang in the New Year in style, attending The Island X Pelicano New Year's Day party in Sydney Despite her young age, Sammy has carved out a career as one of Australia's most successful beauty bloggers. In an interview with Vogue Australia, she said there's no real secret to her success, saying she just tries to be herself. 'Just do you. Everyone else is already taken,' she told the publication. 'There is no point being someone that you're not, it sounds cliché but truly people will be able to tell if you're in it for the wrong reasons or if you're being fake for the fame.' 'Find your passion and just do whatever makes you happy... not just what is trending.'
