The Test series between West Indies and Australia has largely been ruled by bowlers, and that trend may well continue as Sabina Park prepares to stage its inaugural day-night Test.
This will be only the second time a pink-ball Test is played in the Caribbean, the first being in Barbados back in 2018 against Sri Lanka—a match remembered for low scores and an early finish, only stretching to day four because of rain delays.
Australia will play their first-ever day-night Test abroad, using the Dukes ball, with both teams getting a single practice session under lights. Australia has featured in 13 pink-ball Tests at home, losing only once—to West Indies at the Gabba in 2024.
Starc Eyes Milestone in Milestone Match
Mitchell Starc, who will feature in his 100th Test, highlighted the unpredictability of the conditions under lights with the pink Dukes ball.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑫𝒖𝒌𝒆𝒔,” 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑.”
Australia’s top order reported plenty of “swing and nip” during practice, with the ball retaining hardness longer than expected. Throughout this series, the red Dukes balls have frequently lost shape, prompting multiple replacements.
Starc, renowned as the most successful pink-ball bowler globally with 74 wickets at an average of 18.14, is only five dismissals away from reaching the 400-wicket milestone.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 [𝒎𝒚] 100𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒌-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Even Contest Expected Despite Past Challenges
The pitch in Jamaica appeared the most balanced of the series so far, after surfaces in Barbados and Grenada produced significant seam and uneven bounce.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅,” 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒐, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆.”
West Indies batter Brandon King, who hails from Jamaica, shared his excitement about the occasion:
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰’𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐.”
He added, “Sabina Park is usually a decent wicket. It’s usually a balanced wicket, something for the bowlers, something for the batters. And that’s what you want.”
The venue recently installed new floodlights, completed only just before the match deadline. Though the lights sit lower than at many international grounds, they meet brightness requirements. Players noted a few dimmer spots near the boundary but overall found the lighting adequate.
West Indies have played five day-night Tests before this, recording only one victory—their famous win over Australia last year. With most of that team no longer in the squad, the hosts will look to defy the odds again.
The highest individual score in this series so far remains Brandon King’s 75, highlighting just how challenging batting has been.
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