Australia v West Indies 2024: First Test Adelaide – Day 3: Aussies not troubled by Windies

 

 Another beautiful day in Adelaide and what a pleasure it is walking through the immaculate gardens to the ground with planes swooping low to give passengers a view of an Adelaide and Australia icon.  The Adelaide Oval.

 

There is certainly no better cricket ground in the world in my humble opinion to view cricket from and in particular when you can actually see the cathedral, morton bay fig trees and the distant hills of the Mount Lofty ranges.

 

My god! i have just seen a woman taking agapanthus from the gardens and taking them into the church!  What next?

 

It has the best of the new and the old. A friend visiting for the first time in years was gob-smacked with how the restructure of the oval and surrounds has not seen the loss of history and tradition.

 

The scoreboard?  It tells you all the information you need even if you have been swanning out the back in the members garden.  How many boards now tell you who is fielding the ball for example. Today’s razamataz with all the bells and whistles does nothing for you ‘if you want the facts ma’am’.

 

Australian sports fans like to win and a goodly crowd has emerged on this glorious day for a certain coup de grace. I guess many of them from the country and interstate had already purchased tickets  pplus accomodation.  A total of 16,991 have attended this matinee. That will make the people in WA green with envy.

 

Australia has done its homework on Da Silva (18) and the first chance he gets to hook a short ball he hits it straight to Hazlewood who did not have to move. 7/84 and my 3 hour parking spot is looking comfortable.

 

Even more comfortable now A.Joseph (16) and Motie (0) falling in quick succession. Josh Hazlewood has now taken another ‘fiver’. Roach and Shazam Shamar make sure Australia bat again by playing a couple of fluid drives for four.  Joseph certainly looks comfortable at this level with his stroke making and his 3 fours have all been text-book strokes.

 

Roach (11) chances his arm once too often and Carey completes an easy stumping.  West Indies all out for 120  Shamar Joseph 15 not out, he certainly is better than a number 11 and has had a wonderful debut for his team.

 

Josh Hazlewood 5/33, Starc 2/44, Lyon 2/3, Green 1/9 for Australia.

 

It might look a trivial number of runs (26) for victory but all eyes will be on SPD to see whether he is still there when the winning runs are achieved. This will give the much maligned selectors some breathing space and Smith himself.

 

No problems getting the runs and the crowd have enjoyed their short stay.  How long they will stay out the back of the members though is anybodies guess.

 

Khawaja gets a nasty one from S.Joseph that he losses completely and it hits him flush on the grill of his helmet and he has to retire hurt on 9 with one run to win.

 

Labuschagne hits the winnng runs and the home team win by 10 wickets in what turns out to be a decisive victory.  The Windies  lack a great deal of experience and in particular against a team of this calibre. If they are to become a power in the game again more test matches against the likes of England, India and Australia.

 

Now to Brisbane for a January test match. This writer will not be heading up north with the weather likely to be hot, hot, hot.  There has never been a Test there in January before and let us hope this is the last.

 

 

More from Citrus Bob can be read Here

 

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