AUSTRALIA TOUR OF WEST INDIES 2025
West Indies were bundled out for 27 in the second innings © AFP
West Indies captain Roston Chase has described being bowled out for 27, the second-lowest total in Test history, as “quite embarrassing.” Chasing 204 in the third and final Test at Sabina Park, West Indies were bundled out in 14.3 overs, the third-shortest an all-out innings has lasted. Mitchell Starc took a five-wicket haul in 15 balls, the fastest ever, and Scott Boland picked his maiden hat-trick to consign West Indies to a bunch of unwanted record on home turf.
“It’s heartbreaking to be in a position where we think we can win the game and then come out and have that poor batting display. It’s something that has been recurring for the whole series – that makes it even more disappointing,” Chase said. “Obviously being bowled out for less than 30 is quite embarrassing.”
Chase said that the target was “realistic” despite tough conditions for the batters throughout the Test.
“I thought it was realistic,” Chase said. “I mean, the wicket was a good wicket, still a good batting wicket. I didn’t think there were too many devils in the wicket, like the last two games where the ball was rolling or bouncing inconsistently. So yeah, we thought 204 was quite gettable. But then, obviously, with the start, it’s very difficult to really get those runs from there.”
The all-rounder also bemoaned the pitches on offer this series. 120 wickets fell in this series with both West Indies and Australia getting bowled out in each of the six innings they batted. This is only the second such instance in a three-Test series after India’s tour to South Africa in 2018.
“I think the pitches were very tough,” Chase said. “I don’t want to say they were too in favour of the bowlers, but they were very tough because as you can see, this is probably the first series I’ve ever played when no batter got a hundred for each side. So that’s something that I’ve never really seen in a Test series. So that just goes to show how dominant the bowlers were.”
West Indies next travel to India at the end of the year and will need to step-up in foreign conditions, admittedly a tough ask after a loss like this.
“We need to really take a deep look at ourselves as batters,” Chase said. “The next series from here is quite a while. So we have time on our side. So I think that’s what we need to really do, really have a look at our batting this series and see where we can improve and how we can put 300 run totals on the board.
“Obviously India is going to be different conditions, probably more spinner-friendly. So I think if you can have some batting camps around playing spin bowling and stuff like that, I think that will be ideal for us going into those conditions.”
© Cricbuzz
