Australia's first Test win came down to skill - theirs held up, the West Indies' didn't

For a match that appeared evenly poised at the end of day two, Australia's crushing 159-run Test victory over the West Indies was remarkable in its scale.

Mid-way through day two of the first Test in Barbados, the hosts held a 10-run first innings lead.

Australia had been bowled out for just 180 on the first day having won the toss and batted.

In the second innings, the visitors were 4-65 after another woeful top order batting display.

A thrilling Test match was assured, wasn't it?

Alas, Test match cricket does nothing if not exploit and expose the inadequacies between the very best and the rest — and Josh Hazlewood is very much among the best.

The 34-year-old was absolutely unplayable on a wearing, minefield of a pitch.

His five-over second spell was almost mythical, a fitting addition to the tapestry that is the Kensington Oval, one of the world's most storied Test grounds.

But the game was in the balance — a couple of quick wickets and Australia would have been defending a far more modest score than the 301 runs they managed to accrue.

The hardest thing for the West Indies to accept may well be that the chance to take that early wicket presented itself in the fourth over of the day.

Travis Head, on 21, gifted an edge to second slip off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph.

Head was dropped early on day three. (AP: Ricardo Mazalan)

Justin Greaves at second slip did what too many of his teammates had done throughout the Test — he dropped it cold.

The West Indies were, unfortunately, found lacking in the basic skills of the game, catching.

It's a troubling issue and one that is not unknown to the West Indies.

The host broadcaster showed a graphic before the start of play on day three that highlighted that the West Indies were the worst catchers in Test cricket at slips and gully, snaring just 65.6 per cent of their chances in Tests since 2023.

In this Test they caught a truly woeful 36 per cent of their chances in that area.

In a game where the hosts put seven catches down, how does one determine which was the defining drop of the contest?

The first? That one shelled by Brendon King no doubt set the tone for the shambles that followed.

But realistically it was the one on that third morning.

Australia was 4-107 at he time, their lead under 100.

Head went on to score 61, his second half century of the match as part of a 102-run partnership with Beau Webster.

Beau Webster scored his third Test half century. (AP Photo: Ricardo Mazalan)

While Head continued where he left off with his first innings, Webster's half century was just a continuation of the norm for what has been a superb start to Test cricket.

Victim to a brute of a ball in the first innings to be out for 11, in this second stint he was immense.

In what was just his eighth Test match innings, the 31-year-old Tasmanian scored his third half century and did so with impressive composure.

His height allows him to easily get down the pitch and his timing through the covers was simply sublime.

With two crucial wickets in the West Indies batting innings on day two already under his belt, the man from Snug is looking increasingly secure in that all rounder role.

Alex Carey also impressed with a well-paced counter attacking display that saw him shift roles three times throughout his stay.

Alex Carey played a sublime innings. (AP Photo: Ricardo Mazalan)

After playing the supporting role to Webster early and stepping back into that familiar tail end hand holder at the end of his stay, he still blasted a 40-ball half century — his fastest in Tests — with the final 40 runs coming in 15 balls, including a monstrous six back over Jayden Seales' head that crashed into the sightscreen.

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It was a brutal display of power that illustrated just how valuable he is down at number seven, the Jekyll and Hyde position that has to adapt and shift to the circumstances in front of him.

But the impetus Australia managed to gain still, arguably, came from that dropped catch in the first hour.

After day two, coach Daren Sammy rightly pointing out that his team were "shooting ourselves in the foot" more than anything else.

The 38-Test capped Saint Lucian may have hoped that by vocalising the issue his team would holster their self-destructive weapons for day three.

Instead, they loaded them right back up and continued to aim at their own boots.

The honour board of West Indian catching incompetence for this Test is lengthy and frustrating, a blight on the heroes of 1975 who were being honoured on the 50th anniversary of the West Indies' Cricket World Cup triumph in 1975 at the ground on the opening day.

Brandon King, on debut, had three entries in the first day: Cameron Green (0), Usman Khawaja (45) and Nathan Lyon (3).

Fortunately for him, those particular drops cost the West Indies just 11 runs.

The skipper, Roston Chase, was not so lucky — Khawaja added 41 more runs after he was dropped on 6 by him at first slip.

On day two, add John Campbell at third slip and Justin Greaves at second both dropped Sam Konstas in a single Shamar Joseph over while he was on 0.

Again, to the West Indies' relief, Konstas failed to capitalise, only managing another 5 runs before being bowled.

Head was a different story.

"Holding onto that catch could have changed the game," former West Indies player Carlos Brathwaite said on ESPN.

So was it the catching that has cost the West Indies the match?

It's clearly not the only thing given Australia's bowling brilliance.

Starc removed Braithwaite in the first over of the West Indies chase. (AP: Ricardo Mazalan)

As the Kensington Oval pitch began to crumble, Hazlewood came to the fore.

Hazlewood's recent susceptibility to injury has given Australia a look ahead to a near future where this brilliant pace-bowling trio will no longer be around.

But his phenomenal five-over spell of 4-5 showed that Australia still needs him.

Mitch Starc and Pat Cummins also claimed wickets among the seamers, but the strength of this pace triumvirate is its ability to work together.

But it was that brilliant burst from the Tamworth tearaway that caught the eye most.

On a pitch offering plenty of assistance, its erratic nature was exploited by the kind of unerring accuracy that has become this seam attack's signature characteristic.

Should the West Indies first innings lead have been more?

Undoubtedly, the desperately poor third umpiring decisions made by Adrian Holdstock that may yet result in the West Indies issuing a formal complaint against the South African no doubt cruelled any prospect that the West Indies had of turning that narrow lead into one that was far more substantial.

'Flabbergasted': The decisions that went against the West Indies Photo shows Shamar Joseph bites his white jersey with his hands on his hips. The West Indies have every right to feel aggrieved after a number of third umpire decisions went against the home side during the first Test against Australia at the Kensington Oval.

"Me and Shai Hope, we were having a good partnership and then, obviously a few calls set us back a bit," Chase said at the post-match presentation.

"I still thought we did well to get the lead, but we couldn't put any batting innings together."

That much is true, but the West Indies must also take ownership of their own frailties — such a woeful catching display will rarely lead to Test victories against a team of Australia's calibre.

The second Test in Grenada gets underway on July 4.

Not a long enough break to cure the catching woes.

But perhaps short enough to get back on the horse and make things right through their own actions.

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