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West Indies Test skipper Roston Chase didn’t mince words after his team suffered a catastrophic failure in Test cricket history, being bowled out for just 27 runs at Sabina Park, the second-lowest total ever recorded in Tests. Chase termed the collapse of epic proportions as 'quite embarrassing'.
Historic low at home
Chasing a target of 204 in the third and final Test of the series against Australia, West Indies crumbled in just 14.3 overs, registering the third-shortest all-out innings on record. Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc with the new ball and completed his five-wicket haul in just 15 balls, the fastest in Test history, while Scott Boland claimed his maiden Test hat-trick, sealing a record-laden humiliation on home soil.
A target that slipped away fast
“It’s heartbreaking to be in a position where we think we can win the game and then come out and have that poor batting display. It’s something that has been recurring for the whole series - that makes it even more disappointing, Obviously being bowled out for less than 30 is quite embarrassing,” Chase said in the post-match press conference.
Despite the apocalyptic breakdown, Chase believed the target was 'achievable', given the relatively fair surface in Kingston.
“I thought it was realistic, I mean, the wicket was a good wicket, still a good batting wicket. I didn’t think there were too many devils in the wicket, like the last two games where the ball was rolling or bouncing inconsistently. So yeah, we thought 204 was quite gettable. But then, obviously, with the start, it’s very difficult to really get those runs from there,” he stated to his chagrin.
Throughout the series, batting remained a struggle for both sides. In a rare statistical occurrence, all six innings saw teams bowled out, and not a single century was scored, only the second time in history this has happened in a three-Test series (the first being India’s 2018 tour of South Africa).
“I think the pitches were very tough, I don’t want to say they were too in favour of the bowlers, but they were very tough because as you can see, this is probably the first series I’ve ever played when no batter got a hundred for each side…” Chase commented.
Focus shifts to India tour
Looking ahead to their tour of India later this year, Chase urged introspection and preparation, especially in adapting to spin-friendly conditions.
“We need to really take a deep look at ourselves as batters,” Chase said. “The next series from here is quite a while. So we have time on our side…”
“Obviously India is going to be different conditions, probably more spinner-friendly. So I think if you can have some batting camps around playing spin bowling and stuff like that, I think that will be ideal for us going into those conditions.”
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