West Indies' poor batting came to haunt them once again as Australia proved to be too hot to handle for them and retained the Frank Worrell Trophy. The batters were the reason for the West Indies' undoing once again as despite all the neat efforts by the bowlers for the second game in a row, the hosts couldn't stand up to the challenge thrown by the Aussie pace trio of Mitchell Starc, captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and equally supported by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who finished with six wickets for the match and one short of Glenn McGrath's tally of 563 wickets.
Australia haven't been at their best and still have a few issues to be addressed, but Alex Carey's form and Beau Webster taking it to international cricket like fish to water has helped them taper over the cracks, which have started to form, especially at the top of the order. The two innings followed almost a similar pattern for both teams, with the Aussie quicks having the final say in the result.
Australia had two batters standing up amid the storm of regular wickets - it was Carey and Webster in the first innings and then Cameron Green and the returning Steve Smith in the second. A 286-run score in the first innings looked like a solid one and add to that a 33-run first-innings lead, the West Indies had to bowl and bat out of their skin to get a favourable result.
Brandon King, playing just his second Test, scored a mature 75, but for the West Indies to get past Australia's total, they needed another batter to at least score a 70-80 to get some sort of a lead. Smith and Green's partnership, in addition to contributions of 30-odd from Travis Head and Alex Carey, meant that the West Indies were chasing a score in excess of 275.
Losing the top three—including Kraigg Brathwaite, who returned 0 and 7 in his 100th Test—inside the first 10 overs had the writing on the wall for the West Indies. Captain Roston Chase tried his best, but the pressure kept increasing with every fall of a wicket, as sustaining pressure from the Australians was too much and in the end, the visitors ended up registering a commanding victory.
Australia have taken a 2-0 unassailable lead and both teams will have a few days of rest before finishing it off with a day-night clash in Jamaica. With the series in the bag, Australia are likely to make a few changes, if not, the Jamaica Test will be 100th for Starc.
