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New-look Top Order Blown Away By West Indies As Australia Dismissed For 180

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Houston can’t help in this case, but Australia has a problem. When the top order batting sets itself for launch of late, the results tend to be less Nasa, more SpaceX. Which is to say, the whole thing blows up. Ten days after scraping past 200 in both innings of the World Test Championship final, the specialist bats had another rapid unscheduled disassembly in Bridgetown, bowled out by West Indies for 180 to start the first Test. No Australian team in the Caribbean has ever made so few after choosing to bat.

You can trace a line back to the last time Australia played West Indies, in Brisbane. That first month of 2024, Shamar Joseph tore them up for 209 and won the match. In the 18 months since, Australia have been bowled out for 164 in Wellington, 256 in Christchurch, 104 and 238 in Perth, 234 in Melbourne, and 181 in Sydney. The fact that they managed to come back and win most of those Tests is impressive, but has relied on late-order runs and late-game rallies. It shouldn’t disguise the fact that the batting hasn’t delivered.

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