Steve Smith doesn’t make an impact in his debut as an opener, but Australia still takes the lead

Steve Smith’s debut as a test opener didn’t go as planned, but Australia maintained control in the series opener against the West Indies at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. The home team’s captain, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood were instrumental in dismissing the West Indies for 188 in just over two sessions.

Despite resistance from number three batter Kirk McKenzie (50) and debutant Shamar Joseph (36), the West Indies struggled against Australia’s high-quality fast bowling. Joseph, making his Test debut, dismissed Smith for 12 with the first ball of his Test career and later removed Marnus Labuschagne. Australia concluded day one at 59-2, setting the stage to build a significant lead when play resumes on Thursday.

Shamar Joseph became the 23rd player to take a wicket with his first delivery in Test cricket, marking a memorable start to his Test career.

Cricket News Update

Opener Usman Khawaja, taking advantage of an early reprieve, ended the day batting on 30, while Cameron Green, filling the number four slot left by Steve Smith, was on six as Australia aimed to build on their control of the series opener against the West Indies at Adelaide Oval.

After dismissing the West Indies for 188, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins elected to field, and he led by example, taking four wickets for 41 runs. Cummins removed both openers, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul (six) caught in the gully and West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (13) losing his off-stump.

At lunch, West Indies were at 64-3, with Alick Athanaze (13) bowled offering no shot to an incoming delivery, giving Josh Hazlewood his 250th test wicket. Despite resistance from Kirk McKenzie, playing his second test, West Indies slumped to 133-9, losing six wickets for 35 runs.

Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green will resume batting on the second day as Australia looks to build a substantial lead in the series opener.

In the match, West Indies’ number 11 batter, Alzarri Joseph, made his Test debut and faced a challenging moment when he was hit on the helmet by a delivery from Mitchell Starc early in his innings. Despite the setback, Joseph decided to counter-attack and formed a valuable 55-run partnership with Kemar Roach, who remained unbeaten on 17. This partnership turned out to be the most significant in the West Indies’ innings.

When Australia began their innings, opener Usman Khawaja, batting on three, received a reprieve when he edged a delivery from Alzarri Joseph, but wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva dropped a routine catch.

However, Steve Smith, who had taken on the role of the opening batsman, was not as fortunate. He edged Shamar Joseph’s first delivery to third slip, where debutant Justin Greaves took a sharp, low catch.

The West Indies team is without key all-rounders Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers, who opted to participate in lucrative Twenty20 leagues.