- June 29, 2025
For a team still hurting from a heartbreaking loss at Lord’s just two weeks ago, Australia certainly didn’t take their time licking their wounds in Bridgetown. They dispatched the West Indies in the first Test of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle – and they did it in just three and a half days. The scoreboard might show a 159-run victory, but Pat Cummins knows that it was a victory built on tenacity, key partnerships, and one seriously ruthless spell of bowling.
So, what exactly made the difference? Let’s unpack it!
Head, Webster & Carey: The Unsung Trio That Flipped the Script
Top-order collapse? Tick. Scoreboard pressure? Tick-tick. But the middle-order cavalry of Travis Head, Beau Webster, and Alex Carey arrived to put the game on its head.
Head was playing with his normal aggression and, with the composed Webster, produced a 102-run partnership. That partnership not only got Australia out of trouble but also turned what was a 50-50 confrontation into significant momentum. Carey also added pizzazz with cool shot selection, capped off with two straight sixes that would have any power hitter salivating.
Cummins was effusive in his praise of his middle order. Those three were incredible,” he noted, and the evidence certainly backed him up. Without those knocks, Australia’s second innings total would not have been half as threatening, and the match would have ended very differently.
The Beau Webster Blueprint: Calm, Composed, and Crucial
It isn’t the most glamorous rise, but Webster’s ascendance is fast becoming legendary. The 31-year-old Tasmanian has, in just five Tests, managed to create a reputation for himself as the man you want in at the crease when the going gets tough.
Webster’s 63 off 120 deliveries in Bridgetown wasn’t just a score and, more than anything, Webster’s innings was more than valuable runs – it was an innings of resilience. Webster got a feel for the pitch, an understanding of where his limits lay, and constructed partnerships whenever he needed to. His performance would just seem even better when you added in two wickets in the first innings to your tally, also.
Hazlewood’s Hammer: One Session, Five Wickets, Total Destruction
You give Josh Hazlewood an inch, he’ll take a mile, and you get the gist. That was just about exactly what happened in the West Indies’ last innings. West Indies, chasing 301, were dismissed for a mere 141 — all in the space of one session. Leading the charge of demolition was the interacting, interoperating, man, the myth, and the metronome himself quotation renovation phenomenal five-star haul.
The guy doesn’t miss his spot. “He just puts it in the same spot, ball after ball,” Cummins said after the match. It is that kind of discipline that not only won them this Test match but continues to lead to world-class bowlers like Scott Boland sitting on the sidelines.
As long as Hazlewood continues to bowl this good, Australia has great fast bowler depth for the rest of the WTC cycle. This victory was not just a rebound; it was a template. From the middle-order toughness to Hazlewood’s orchestral wicket-taking, Australia demonstrated they have the capability and the mentality to make a great run through WTC27.
As the caravan moves on to St George’s for the second Test on July 3, the lingering question is, are Australia’s unheralded heroes the secret to another winding run at the WTC final? Well, let’s just say – if they keep turning up like this, the path to redemption could be a lot shorter.
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