To the avid Cricket fan, it was a fantastic game of Cricket at Lords, though India lost by a close margin – many armchair critics would now write on what went wrong and how the chase should have been done !!
Not sure whether you have been following the Series in Caribbean and more specifically Test no. 2595 at Sabina Park, which turned out to be a 3 day Test, a total humiliation for the once mighty Windies.
Kingston was founded in July 1692 as a place for survivors of the 1692 earthquake that destroyed Port Royal. Before the earthquake, Kingston's functions were purely agricultural. The earthquake survivors set up a camp on the sea front. Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbor protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. Two parts make up the central area of Kingston: the historic Downtown, and New Kingston. Both are served by Norman Manley International Airport and also by the smaller and primarily domestic Tinson Pen Aerodrome. Jamaica has always had a vibrant civil aviation industry with the first flight reported in the island on 21 Dec 1911, eight years after the world recorded its first powered flight by the Wright Brothers. Nineteen years later, on 3 December 1930, the first commercial flight, a Consolidated Commodore twin-engine flying boat operated by Pan American Airways (which eventually became Pan American World Airways), landed in Kingston Harbour.
At
Lords – even in despair, it appeared as though India had a fair chance to
making the final line – hopes clinged on whether they could last till the
second new ball even as Bumrah first and Siraj later fought not survival but
kindling the chances and fear more ! England were 5.1 overs away from taking the
second new ball when Siraj couldn't stop the ball from spinning back to knock
off his bail after he had defended an offbreak from Shoaib Bashir. It ended a
23-run last-wicket partnership after Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah had
added 35 in 22 overs. The partnerships frustrated Ben Stokes and his men, who
were challenged by a soft Dukes ball, a lifeless pitch, and a Lord's crowd
populated by mostly Indian fans. Well,
the match is lost – and one of the reasons could well be the high no. of
extras, more so, the Byes, with a regular wicket-keeper donning the gloves and
some inexperienced stroke-play.
Elsewhere
at Jamaica, Australia bowled out West Indies for a paltry 27 – the second
lowest score in Test Cricket History, the worst since 1955 - to complete a 176-run
win and series clean sweep in Jamaica. The Windies total on the third day of
the day-night Test in Jamaica was just one run more than New Zealand's 26 all
out against England in 1955. The previous lowest total by West Indies was the
47 they managed against England in 2004.
Australia pace bowler
Mitchell Starc, playing in his 100th Test, took 6-9 in figures that included five
wickets in 15 balls. It is the fastest five-wicket haul in Test cricket and
also took Starc passed the 400 wicket mark in the longer form of the game. Seamer
Scott Boland also weighed in with a hat-trick as the tourists won the series
3-0.
Sabina Park, the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, is situated in the driest part of Kingston and for many years the pitch was one of the hardest and fastest in the Caribbean. But in recent years the surface slowed, despite attempts to restore life by relaying it on more than one occasion. Sabina Park's greatest moment in Test cricket was the 365 not out made by Garry Sobers against the Pakistanis that stood for many years as the highest individual test score. Conversely its worst moment was when the England - West Indies Test in 1998 was abandoned on the opening day due to an appalling pitch endangering the players. Now this 27 all out would add to the worst performance here.
Starc six-for, Boland hat-trick consigned West Indies to 27 all-out and 0-3 defeat. West Indies' second innings lasted only 14.3 overs and had seven batters dismissed on a duck as they went down by 176.
Yet that was not the end of it. Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick, removing Justin Greaves, Shamar Joseph and Jomel Warrican, leaving West Indies 26 for 9 and in danger of equaling the lowest-ever Test total - made by New Zealand against England in 1955. They edged past it courtesy of a Sam Konstas misfield in the gully, but only by one run when Starc ended the Text next ball to finish with a career-best 6 for 9. West Indies were all out in 14.3 overs. West Indies had to make 204 for victory in another match dominated by the quick bowlers. Alzarri Joseph, with a career-best 5 for 27, and Shamar shared nine wickets as Australia's last four wickets fell for 22 runs but that was nothing compared to what followed. Starc produced one of the great opening overs. He removed John Campbell first ball, the fourth time in his career he had struck with the opening delivery of an innings, when the left-handed edged a perfect outswinger to substitute wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, who was standing in for the concussed Alex Carey. Four balls later, Kevlon Anderson shouldered arms as the ball swung back to strike his shin in front of middle stump, yet he reviewed the plumbest of lbws. Next delivery, another one arched back between Brandon King's bat and pad to demolish the stumps. It was the sixth time in Test history that a team had been 0 for 3.
India would remember Sabina Park for a different reason, the blood split on the ground in that Fourth Test at Kingston – Test no. 776 on 21 – 25th April 1976. The score card would read India 306/6 decl !! ; WI 391 all out. India 97 all out and West Indies making the 13 runs required without losing a wicket. Statistics will never reveal the real bloody story. WW Daniel made his debut in a bloody test, where Indians were intimidated with crowds calling for blood. The short pitched bowling was over done and Holding from round the wickets caused most damage to the bodies of Indians.
Here are the Five lowest innings totals in Test Cricket.
1.
New Zealand Vs. England – Auckland –
Mar 1955
2.
West Indies Vs. Australia - Kingston (today) – July 2025
3.
South Africa Vs England – Gqeberha – Feb 1896
4.
South Africa Vs. England – Birmingham – June 1924
5. South Africa Vs. England - Cape Town - April 1899
The latest entrant to 400 wickets club Mitchell Starc has done in his 100th test. Muttiah Muralidharan achieved this feat at Galle on 12.1.2002 in just 72 tests; followed by Ravichandran Ashwin in 77 tests; mercurial Richard Hadlee in 80 – so also Dale Steyn !!
Regards – S Sampathkumar
15.7.2025
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