Sam Konstas gone for a duck carnage unfolds in third Test
Sam Konstas’ hopes of keeping his position in the Aussie Test team have disintegrated as Australia was wiped out in another nightmare.
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Pink ball carnage has unfolded in the third Test with Australia’s top order falling apart in Jamaica on Monday.
Australia lost six wickets in 21 overs under the lights at Sabina Park in Kingston, the second time the Tourists have fallen apart in a night session.
When Alex Carey tossed his wicket away dancing down the pitch, Australia had suddenly crashed to 6/69.
In an extraordinary day of play where 15 wickets fell, the West Indies earlier crumbled to be all out for 143, losing 7/51 as the tail-enders were demolished by the Aussie pace attack.
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With Australia also wiped out under lights on Day 1 to finish all out for 225, the Tourists had an 82-run lead heading into the second innings.
Reaching stumps at the end of Day 2 at 6/99, Australia leads by 181 runs with four wickets in the shed.
Cameron Green was the hero for the Tourists with the all-rounder reaching 42 not out at stumps.
The drama went up another notch in the final session right from the moment Sam Konstas was removed for a duck in the second over of the innings.
While the Aussie bowlers keep getting the job done this series, the Aussie batsmen have been badly exposed.
The failures continued on Monday morning with Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head and Beau Webster all joining Konstas in the dressing room.
Australia lost their last seven wickets for 68 runs in 15 overs on Day 1 and the nightmare happened all over again on Monday.
12pm - West Indies robbed by umpire blunder
Pat Cummins could easily have been the next Aussie put in the meat grinder when he gloved a ball down leg side.
Shamar Joseph’s delivery was heading into Cummins’ rib cage when the Aussie batter deflected it away with his glove. The catch was well taken by keeper Shai Hope, but there was only a muted appeal.
The umpire ignored those appeals and Cummins, who was only on 3 runs at the time, stood his ground sheepishly.
It was only when a replay was shown on the big screen inside the venue following the next ball of the over that the West Indies realised Cummins had got glove on the ball.
If given out, Australia would have been 7/90.
11.45am - Carnage as Aussie top order collapses
Another Test innings, more disaster for the Aussie top order with Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith all departing for minimal impact.
Fellow opener Khawaja followed Konstas back to the sheds after adding only 14 while Smith made less of an impact with only five runs to his name.
While the middle order has largely saved Australia’s bacon this series, Travis Head, Beau Webster and Alex Carey joined the procession back to the sheds.
“Absolute carnage here on night two of the third Test,” Aussie Test great Greg Blewett said on ESPN.
Carey’s dismissal was the worst of the bunch when he charged down the wicket two deliveries after being struck in the helmet by a menacing short ball.
His aggressive attempt to hit down the ground proved to be his downfall as the ball snicked off his bat behind the wicket. Carey was the sixth wicket to fall — a three-ball duck.
Head looked to be finding his feet after working his way to 16, but he was dismissed for 16 after edging a Justin Greaves delivery to the slips.
9:45am - Sam Konstas future hanging by a thread
Sam Konstas’ hopes of claiming the opening spot alongside Usman Khawaja for the upcoming Ashes series appear to be shot after his latest failing with the willow.
The 19-year-old had one final chance to impress selectors in the second innings but his time at the crease was short lived.
A Shamar Joseph delivery outside of off stump lured Konstas in with a nothing shot as the ball caught the outside edge and sailed into the hands of Roston Chase at gully.
After only five balls Konstas was on his way back to the dressing rooms for a duck.
Konstas struggled mightily throughout the series, finishing with a total of 50 runs from his six innings with a top score of 25 which came in the second Test. He registered two ducks and failed to reach double figures in four of the six innings.
His average of 8.33 is the lowest batting average for an Australian opener in a Test tour of the West Indies since 1984.
Fans watching on were all left calling for the youngster to be sent back to the Sheffield Shield to develop his game before he is called back into the Australian squad.
Fox Sports’ Justin Edwards wrote: “Pretty clear Sam Konstas is unlikely to be the Ashes opener now.”
Adam White said on SEN: “His last innings in the West Indies and his last opportunity ahead of the Ashes in green and gold colours and he falls without scoring. It’s hard to put into words and the same old questions but no answers. Maybe it isn’t Sam Konstas. He’s had six opportunities here in the West Indies.”
Another posted: “No way can Konstas be in the test team in the next 12 months, that was horrible. Needs to be dropped and have 12 months min. of shield cricket. Score runs on difficult wickets, not just roads.”
Following his latest disaster questions will now turn to who should partner Khawaja at the top of the order.
Cricket Australian confirmed there would be four rounds of Sheffied Shield matches before the opening Ashes Test in Perth in November.
Those four rounds will now prove to be more important than ever as Aussie selectors attempt to solidify an opening line-up to take on the Poms.
“There’s great opportunity in domestic cricket at the start of the season, and there always is leading into any Test series,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald said.
“We saw with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, there was opportunity for players to put their hand up there.”
9am - West Indies crumble again
Australia has blown the West Indies apart once more with Scott Boland leading the charge with three wickets.
John Campbell (36 runs) was the only batsman to score more than 24.
Campbell was also lucky to survive a potential run out when he was on just 15.
It was rocks and diamonds in the field for Australia with Alex Carey dropping a crucial catch.
However, teenager Konstas produced a rocket throw from the boundary to run out Justin Greaves for 18, with Boland whipping off the bails at the non-striker’s end as the Barbadian returned for a third run.
8am - Run out drama as Cummins protests with umpire
Pat Cummins was not happy when his run out attempt was ignored by the umpires.
Cummins appeared to have John Campbell in trouble when the Aussie captain came in from mid-on, scooped up the ball and hit the stumps from side on as the West Indies batsman desperately stretched out with his bat after scampering for a quick single.
With the West Indies 2/55, Campbell had dug out a yorker from Mitchell Starc and took off for a cheeky run.
While it appeared on first look that Campbell had reached his ground, replays showed his bat may have been in the air at the time when Cummins’ throw hit the stumps.
You can watch the incident in the video player above.
The umpires elected not to review the dismissal, despite Cummins’ complaints.
The Aussie skipper also elected not to challenge the decision.
The following delivery, Cummins was seen arguing with umpire Nitin Menon after slow-motion replays were shown on the venue’s big screens, querying why the third umpire was not consulted.
During the conversation, the TV microphones captured Cummins saying: “Check it out. Why wouldn’t you just check it out?”
Marnus Labuschagne was also heard chirping up in the conversation, saying he had appealed for a run out.
The discussion went on for more than 30 seconds and Cummins was left passionately gesturing for the match official to send it up to the video umpire.
7am - Australia goes bang-bang after tea
The West Indies lost 2/13 after play resumed in the middle session.
Scott Boland left John Campbell at sixes-and-sevens when the West Indies batsman elected not to play at a ball that darted back into his pads.
Bowling around the wicket, Boland’s delivery caught Campbell high on the knee roll as the batsman shouldered arms.
Campbell did try to review the umpire’s decision, but ball tracking showed the ball was going on to hit the top of off stump.
Moments later Mikyle Louis was bowled by Josh Hazlewood when he attempted slog across his body.
It left the home side 5/95.
Wickets fall early on Day 2
Josh Hazlewood has taken the early wicket of West Indies makeshift opener Brandon King.
King was trapped on the pads in front of the wicket, ending his nervous innings on 14.
The West Indies batter called for a review, with the ball just kissing the top of leg stump.
It didn’t take too long before captain Pat Cummins took his first wicket of the innings with the West Indies in trouble at 3/58.
Cummins got the prized wicket of Windies captain Roston Chase with a ball that climbed high and took an edge through to Usman Khawaja at first slip.
Big twist in send off drama
Jayden Seales has denied his finger-pointing gesture made following the dismissal of Mitchell Starc was a send-off, with the West Indies paceman claiming he was signalling to a teammate rather than in the direction of the pavilion.
Seales was also given a caution by the on-field umpires after he screamed at Steve Smith after the vice-captain edged a Shamar Joseph delivery to second-slip.
Seales was handed a fine earlier this series after giving Pat Cummins an almighty send-off on the opening day of the first Test.
Speaking after stumps, Seales said he didn’t direct his celebrations at opposition players.
“No send-off, that was pointed directly towards Alzarri. We had a conversation before the delivery. No send-offs,” Seales said.
“I’m not planning to get any fines or push the limits with the umpires anymore, so definitely not crossing that line.”
Steve Smith the hero as Aussies fell apart
Smith and Cameron Green (46) put on 61 for the third wicket in the one passage of play during the daylight hours when the bat threatened to dominate the ball.
“It was almost like he was batting on a different wicket,” Green said at the end of play in an appreciation of Smith’s positive innings.
“I was really struggling out there but clearly he is a class above.”
Despite the batting collapse in the final session, Green, who is still unable to bowl for at least another three months, was happy with his team’s position after day one.
“We just wanted to give them a tricky last 45 minutes at the end and to get them one down is really crucial,” he added.
An almost T20-style attitude to batting, typified by captain Pat Cummins’ consecutive sixes off Seales, was also a reflection of Australia’s eagerness to get as many runs as they could quickly in that final session to allow the bowlers a decent shot at the West Indies’ depleted top order under the lights.
That helter-skelter tempo at the end contrasted sharply with the pedestrian opening session, made exciting only by the antics of opener Sam Konstas.
He was almost run out by Campbell and then dropped at third slip by Anderson off successive balls from Seales before being trapped leg-before for 17 off the first ball bowled by Greaves.
Anderson, who replaced Keacy Carty, is one of three changes to the West Indies team from the second Test.
That match was Kraigg Brathwaite’s 100th in Test cricket and possibly his last, as he was dropped in favour of Louis for the series finale while left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican returned at the expense of fast-medium bowler Anderson Phillip.
— with AFP
Originally published as Sam Konstas gone for a duck carnage unfolds in third Test
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