Australia have retained the Frank Worrell Trophy and it took less than five days.
West Indies suffered a 164-run defeat at the Perth Stadium in the series opener, managing to capture just six wickets in a match that was dominated by the bat.
Australia take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series, which resumes with a day-night contest at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Here are the talking points to come out of the first Test in Perth.
Watch the first Test between Australia and West Indies LIVE and ad-free during the game on Fox Cricket and stream on Kayo. Coverage begins at 11.50am AEDT on Wednesday >
Could Australia be forced to change captaincy? Source: AFP
CAPTAIN ROTATION A NEED AMID CUMMINS INJURY
Considering how packed the cricket calendar is at the moment, it is virtually impossible for an Australian bowler to play every match in all three formats.
The next 14 months are total chaos for the men’s national team, and managing the workload will be crucial for Australia’s quick three.
When Pat Cummins experienced mild quad pain on Saturday, the Aussies took no chances, leaving their captain out for the start of the fourth innings.
With another Test match scheduled to start in Adelaide four days later, the captain’s long-term fitness was prioritized. It was decided that he would only play on the fifth day if absolutely necessary.
Former Australian Test captain Steve Smith led the team in Cummins’ absence, a role he also played during last summer’s Ashes Test in Adelaide. He may be asked to don the green jacket again next week, pending Cummins’ fitness.
The Aussies are fortunate that their squad is full of experienced players capable of leading the side whenever Cummins is unavailable.
Josh Hazlewood was handed the captaincy during the recent ODI series against England, while Alex Carey took on the role against the West Indies last winter.
Travis Head has captained South Australia in the Sheffield Shield for several years, while calls for Marnus Labuschgane to take a leadership position are growing in volume.
It’s inevitable that Cummins will miss some cricket over the next few years, either through injury or workload management, and rotation of captaincy duties could become the norm in the Australian side across all formats.
The prospect of David Warner’s lifetime captaincy ban being overturned becomes an intriguing prospect. Could he lead the Aussies at some point in next year’s World Cup in India?
However, former Australian batsman Mark Waugh believes Smith should serve as sole deputy to avoid complicating the team’s hierarchy.
“I don’t agree with the rotating pattern, just giving boys the captaincy for the sake of it,” he said. foxsports.com.au.
“I was surprised that Josh Hazlewood got the captaincy in the one-day game – you still have to earn the right to captain a country.
“Steve Smith, he’s the vice-captain, so whenever Pat’s not available and needs to be rested for the odd game, the odd Test match because you’re going to have to rotate the fast bowlers at some point, then you’ve got a game ready. replacement for Steve Smith – I see no problem with that.”
Pat Cummins from Australia. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
LYON SIX PROVES THE DEMONS ARE GONE
Nathan Lyon’s Five Demons of the Day are long behind us.
The veteran off-spinner claimed 6-128 in the second innings to help Australia cruise to a 164-run win over the West Indies, silencing doubts about their match-winning potential.
Lyon snagged the crucial wicket of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite on Sunday morning, brutally spinning the Kookaburra on top of off-stump to expose the tail.
During the Perth competition, he moved up to eighth position in the all-time record of Test wicket-takers, surpassing Indian rival Ravichandran Ashwin.
“He’s a world-class bowler – his stats say that,” Waugh said.
“Against the West Indies, who don’t have a great record against toe-spin and spin, he can certainly exploit that weakness in his batting attack and it just suits those conditions.
“I think it will do well in Adelaide because it’s another pitch that bounces, although swing bowlers and quicks tend to do better in the night session.
“He’s of that quality in all conditions, Nathan. Going to have a disc like he has in Australia, because it’s not an easy place to spin your fingers in Australia, but he’s used to the conditions really well now “.
Throughout his career, Lyon has come under fire for not getting the job done in the fourth innings of Tests, including but not limited to Adelaide 2012, Headingley 2019, Brisbane 2021 and Sydney 2022.
But the New South Welshman is starting to rediscover his mojo with deteriorating fifth-day wickets – his most recent bowling figures in the fourth innings of Tests are 4-112, 5-83 and 6-128.
Lyon has averaged 21.36 in the fourth innings of Tests over the past 12 months, the lowest of any Australian batsman over that period.
“He will be very proud of that performance,” former Test batsman Michael Hussey told Fox Cricket.
“When you get to the last innings, there is an expectation that the spinner will launch the team to victory. It’s an expectation he’s struggled with in the early parts of his career.
“But to be able to go out and do it in the fourth innings and help Australia win the Test match, I think deep down he’ll be very proud of that.”
However, a question mark still lingers over Mitchell Starc, who was again ineffective on the fifth day of a Test match.
The tall left-armer could not gather a wicket at the Perth Stadium on Sunday despite having the second new ball in his hands.
Since the start of 2021, Starc has averaged 192.50 in the fourth innings of red-ball Test matches, taking 2-385 in 117 overs during that period.
Fortunately for Starc, Australia will travel to Adelaide for a day-night Test match under lights, and no one in world cricket is more threatening with the pink Kookaburra in their hands.
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Lyon stars with six wicket haul | 02:21
WINDIES FINALLY FIND RELIABLE OPENING DUO
Tagenarine Chanderpaul needed just 45 minutes to prove he was ready for the challenge of Test cricket.
The West Indies debutant faced a monumental task on Thursday afternoon, taking on the best bowling attack in the world with a Kookaburra swinging on an inflatable cover, while conceding 598 runs.
But Chanderpaul weathered the storm with experience, surviving the second day’s evening session alongside captain Kraigg Brathwaite with 0-74.
The 26-year-old returned to the sheds bruised and battered – taking a nasty hit in the box, courtesy of Josh Hazlewood, before expertly limping under a barrage of short deliveries, dragging the Kookaburra to the keeper.
Chanderpaul’s most recent scores in first-class cricket are 140*, 23*, 184, 25, 49, 109*, 119, 56, 51 and 45. It may be early days, but after years of searching, it seems that the West Indies have found a worthy opening partner for Brathwaite.
Chanderpaul brought up his half-century on Friday morning before Hazlewood retired the left-hander with a peach that edged towards the slip crease.
He later scored 45 in the second innings, combining with Brathwaite for a 116-run opening partnership before being cut at the end of the fourth day.
Brathwaite and Chanderpaul became the first opening partnership to score more than 75 in both innings of a Test match against Australia in Australia since 2001.
The West Indies skipper has played a solitary hand at the top of the order since his international debut in 2011 – Brathwaite has scored the most recent 11 Test centuries by West Indies openers.
Maybe Chanderpaul can break the streak.
“I thought it was a great debut Test match for Chanderpaul against this quality bowling attack on a pitch he wouldn’t be used to playing on – pace and bounce,” Waugh said.
“To show the skill and patience he did in both innings, he won’t find much tougher batting conditions and he got out on a high note.
“He would have liked to have made a bigger score and a hundred, but (an) excellent start to his career.
“It can only be upwards for him.
“I think they could easily become a really formidable opening partnership.”
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Tagenarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
HOW CAN SMITH AND LABUSCHAGNE STOP THE WINDS?
The pink ball will certainly help, and the West Indies will need as much of it as they can get.
The tourists are already down in numbers with multiple injured headaches, while Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are red hot after scoring 308 and 220 runs respectively in Perth.
What’s more is that not only was Smith not dismissed throughout the Test, he certainly didn’t give the West Indies a clear chance.
The same cannot be said for Labuschagne, but the way an indulgent sharpens his senses and takes it to another level is becoming the stuff of legend.
So where are the West Indies going?
Starting with Labuschagne; the West Indies should take solace in the fact that they made him look uncomfortable several times during the Test.
There were spells of short bowling which saw Labuschagne rush to the crease and provide opportunities. In the second innings, Alzarri Joseph removed him for 19, but it was a no ball.
Labuschagne hits ANOTHER ton | 02:46
These short ball tactics, plus the potential for some extra movement with the pink ball under the…