Windies looking to salvage some pride in floodlit final Test
West Indies v Australia | 3rd Test | 12-16 July | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | 8:30pm
This will be the final game of a three-match series. Australia already has the series in the series in the bag following wins in the opening games at Bridgetown and St Georges.
Neither of the opening two games produced a century with the highest score of the two Tests thus far the 75 made by Brandon King in the second Test. The highest score for Australia is 65 by Alex Carey.
The third Test is due to be played under lights and will be Sabina Parks first day/night Test. There may yet be issues however as delays with the installation and testing of the new floodlights have been flagged.
Australia have won four of the last five games between the two sides.
Venue:
Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Sabina Park has been the venue for 55 Test matches with the first game played there as long ago as 1930.
The average first innings score at the venue is 315 while the average second innings score is 329.
There is a slight edge for teams batting second – they have claimed 22 wins versus the 19 managed by sides batting first.
The highest score recorded at the venue was 849 all out by England. That score came in 1930 and is unlikely to repeated in this Test.
Australia have played 11 games at the venue and won five of them, they have three losses and three draws to their credit as well.
The West Indies have a good record at the ground with 25 wins from 55 games played. They have suffered 16 defeated and managed 14 draws.
The last time these two sides faced each other at the venue was 2015. Australia won comfortably by 277 runs in a game that features Steve Smith (he scored 199 in Australia’s first innings) and Nathan Lyon.
Weather:
There is plenty of rain about in Kingston at the moment with showers predicted on both day two and day three of the game. It looks set to be worse on the third day with rain predicted for the better part of the day. Humidity is also set to be high so this could once again be a Test where the conditions favour the bowlers.
Form (most recent game first):
West Indies: L, L, W, L, L.
Australia: W, W, L, W, W
Key player:
West Indies, Brandon King: Still making his way in Test cricket (the Kingston Test will be only his third game in the format), King is an undoubted talent. A confident striker of the ball, he is the top scorer of the series so far with his 75 from St George’s. He has looked increasingly comfortable as the series has progressed with his scores moving in an upward trajectory. If he can get going at Sabina Park (his home ground), he could be the man to spark the Windies batting into life.
Australia, Alex Carey: He has been the form man for the home team thus far with scores of 63, 30, 8 and 65. Coming in at seven he has frequently been forced to produce rescue acts, and he has answered the call with aplomb every time. He has been tidy behind the stumps, but at the moment it is his batting and mental resilience that is proving one of the key differences between the two sides. Of course, Carey would like to take a batting back-seat in the third Test and leave the run-scoring to the guys ahead of him, but thus far they have been anything but consistent.
Verdict: Australia
It is hard to see this going any way other than in favour of Australia. Both sides both bowling line-ups that are in for, but the batting frailties are far more evident for the West Indies than they are for Australia. Expect Kraigg Brathwaite to be stood down for the game – the veteran has managed scores of 0, 7, 4 and 4 thus far, and with his 100th Test out of the way the West Indies are likely to move swiftly to try and prop up their top order. But it’s unlikely to be enough. Expect another win for the tourists.
