Analysis: Australia’s sad West Indies headache to worsen, with Test repeat looming due to schedule quirk

The Frank Worrell Trophy literally fell apart at the end of a poor Australia v West Indies series that will soon be awkwardly repeated, writes DANIEL CHERNY.

The lopsided Australia and West Indies Test series will be repeated next summer. Picture: William WEST / AFP

The Frank Worrell Trophy fell apart at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. And the dispiriting news for Australian cricket fans who prefer more of a contest is that it won’t be long until it is brought out of its case again.

The ball atop the six-decade old trophy was dislodged as the Aussies were presented with their prize for beating the West Indies 2-0, leaving stand-in Australian captain Steve Smith having to fumble to put the ball back in its place.

“Something happened to it. The ball came off the top of it. Not really sure what happened there. Hopefully someone can glue it back together,” Smith said.

The symbolism was all too fitting for the demise in competitiveness of the series. Having pluckily taken Australia to beyond lunch on day five during the first Test in Perth, the undermanned tourists were crushed by 419 runs in Adelaide, routed for 77 in the second innings in a capitulation condemned by Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

Having gone almost seven years between Tests between the sides, a quirk of scheduling – the fact that a new ICC future tours cycle is about to commence – means that the Windies are back for another couple of Tests next summer.

The West Indies will be back next summer for another Test series. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

Unlike this season where the Windies are the clear entree for a three-Test series involving South Africa, next summer the Windies are due out second and not until January, with Pakistan coming here first for three Tests scheduled to fall across December and January. The later start to Australia’s Test summer comes about because of the 50-over World Cup in India and a subsequent Twenty20 series also in India.

Melbourne and Sydney are clear candidates for two of the Pakistan Tests in the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s slots respectively, however it is unclear which of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth would be handed a Pakistan Test, and who would be left with the lowly West Indies.

Despite the lopsided affair, Adelaide Oval drew 86,617 across the three and a bit days of the second Test, more than double the turnout across the five days of the Perth Test, which was a day match and started in an unusual Wednesday slot.

Adelaide’s pink-ball spectacular and carnival atmosphere is a consistent winner with local fans regardless of the opposition, which could theoretically hurt South Australia’s chances of being given a more compelling Test. Looking out the back of the SACA members area showed that hundreds of Test patrons in Adelaide come to the ground more for the canapes than the cut shots.

More of a concern for Cricket Australia however is the likelihood that its Test stars will be taken out of the Big Bash League pool for much of next January, playing against an opponent who will have by that time not beaten Australia in a Test for more than 20 years.

CA had been keen to free its top players to play in the domestic Twenty20 league but, as has long been acknowledged, has its hands tied by the idiosyncrasies of the international calendar.

Despite the one-sided action, the Adelaide Test still attracted 86,617 fans. Picture: William WEST / AFP

Brathwaite noted that it had actually been a reasonable year for the Windies in Test cricket, having beaten England at home earlier in 2022. But he was disappointed by how badly they fell away in Adelaide, notwithstanding that the team was hit hard by injuries.

“We didn’t show any fight at all,” lamented Brathwaite of the second Test showing, while still hopeful that the team would acquit itself better in little over a year’s time.

“[For] a lot of the guys it was their first time to Australia, so I think the experience will help and that is both as batsmen and as bowlers, and then seeing how Australia have played … we can learn from that.

“It is important that you come back, that you don’t necessarily make the same mistakes. The key from experience is to learn from it.”

Smith was diplomatic when asked about the Windies’ prospects.

“I think they’ve got some good players. We probably got the best of the conditions, we won both tosses and got in front of the game pretty early on,” Smith said.

“West Indies put up some good fights in this series, the second innings in Perth in particular; it took us a while to get through them and they’ve got some players there who can play, so next summer is going to be another challenge for us.”

Originally published as Analysis: Australia’s sad West Indies headache to worsen, with Test repeat looming due to schedule quirk