Snapshot
- Venue: National Cricket Stadium, St George’s
- Result: Australia won by 133 runs
- Series: Australia lead 2-0 with one Test remaining
- Target Set: 277
- West Indies Reply: 143 all out (34.3 overs)
How It Unfolded
If the pitch in Grenada was awkward, Australia treated it like a familiar backyard net. Resuming on 243, they added only a handful in the morning, but the momentum swing never arrived for the hosts. Shamar Joseph finished with 4-66, yet his breakthrough was little more than a speed-bump on the road to Australian domination.
Collapse Before Lunch
John Campbell lasted one over; Josh Hazlewood trapped him in front. Keacy Carty nicked off to Mitchell Starc soon after. Kraigg Brathwaite, marking his 100th Test, edged debutant Lance Webster for seven—an unfortunate book-end to a match that had begun with a duck. By the interval West Indies were 33-4; the chase had already moved from improbable to impossible.
Starc, Lyon Turn the Screws
The afternoon session belonged to the old double act. Starc’s left-arm thunderbolts claimed three, Nathan Lyon’s off-spin accounted for another three, and Pat Cummins plus Hazlewood filled in the blanks. Starc now sits on 394 Test wickets, one good evening under the lights in Kingston away from an even 400 in what will also be his 100th cap.
Lone Bright Spots
Captain Roston Chase’s 34 was admirable if futile. Joseph’s post-lunch cameo of 24 brought a hint of cheer to the St George’s crowd, but Lyon removed him with a dipping off-break, sealing the match and the Frank Worrell Trophy for the twentieth straight year.
Numbers That Matter
| Australia | Overs | Wkts | Runs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Starc | 9.3 | 3 | 47 | 394 career wickets |
| N Lyon | 11 | 3 | 38 | 9 for the series |
| J Hazlewood | 8 | 2 | 28 | New-ball stranglehold |
| West Indies | Runs | Balls | Dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|
| R Chase | 34 | 52 | c Carey b Lyon |
| S Hope | 22 | 29 | c & b Hazlewood |
| S Joseph | 24 | 21 | b Lyon |
Executive Take
Australia didn’t simply win; they suffocated. Every over carried intent, every wicket tightened the vice, and every mis-behaving bounce on a two-paced strip whispered the same message: composure first, flair later. The West Indies never found that composure.
Next stop is Kingston, under lights, where the visitors eye a 3-0 result and Starc chases a milestone that would underscore a career of relentless pace. The hosts must regroup quickly; pride, if not the series, is still at stake.
