West Indies dreaming big, Aussie top order wobbles

West Indies are sensing another Test upset over Australia after ripping through the visitors' new-look top order for the second straight day in Barbados.

Having taken a slender 10-run first-innings lead courtesy of senior pair Roston Chase (44) and Shai Hope (48), the Windies went to stumps on day two 82 runs in arrears but with all Australia's top four back in the sheds.

Shamar Joseph (1-15) was again outstanding with the new ball amid a brilliant team bowling effort as all four quicks – including Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph and Justin Greaves – broke through in the day's final session to leave Australia 4-92 at stumps 33 overs into their second innings.

Sam Konstas (5), Cameron Green (15) and Josh Inglis (12) all improved on their first-innings efforts but having done the hard work by weathering the Windies quicks' initial burst, succumbed just as they were beginning to look set.

The trio – which includes Konstas and Inglis on their return to the Test side and Green batting in the No.3 position for just the second time in his Test career – all faced upwards of 30 balls each but were unable to kick on.

Scoring has indeed proved tough across both days' play with the Kensington Oval surface still offering just enough for two quality pace attacks to make the batters' life difficult.

West Indies pair Chase and Hope faced 108 and 91 balls respectively, with the typically aggressive wicketkeeper-batter Hope starting quickly before Australia put the brakes on, with just 18 runs coming from his final 40 balls faced.

Two of Australia's most aggressive batters will resume on day three (midnight Saturday AEST) with Travis Head (13 not out) and Beau Webster (19no) surviving the final 40 minutes to add an unbeaten 28 for the fifth wicket before stumps.

It came after another outstanding opening spell from Shamar Joseph who could have easily had rookie opener Konstas out twice before he eventually chopped on for five.

His senior partner Usman Khawaja (15) departed first after Konstas was dropped twice in the slip cordon in Joseph's first over, the veteran opener unable to be saved by the 'umpire's call' review after being given out when struck on the pad by Alzarri Joseph (1-16) for his first wicket of the match.

Despite starting his innings by walking at Shamar Joseph and getting a thick edge that was dropped by John Campbell at third slip, the young quick tied down Australia's teenage opener in an opening seven-over burst that yielded 1-13.

Konstas managed just one scoring shot off the Guyanese tearaway – an all run four – before chopping on to end a challenging 38-ball stay when he chose to defend too late to a rising delivery that again seamed back from outside the off-stump.

West Australian pair Inglis and Green added 23 for the third wicket and were beginning to appear comfortable until Inglis misjudged the length of a delivery from Seales (1-24), as he shouldered arms and looked on helplessly as the ball clipped the top of the stumps.

Green also seemed settled as he crunched a glorious on drive, also surviving two lbw reviews with one reversed when ball tracking revealed it sailing over the top of the stumps before getting an inside edge on a delivery that would have otherwise hit the stumps.

But he succumbed looking to attack allrounder Greaves (1-27), lunging forward and attempting to cut with Chase gleefully accepting the edge at a wide first slip to leave Australia 4-65.

Earlier, West Indies' two leaders – Test (Chase) and white-ball (Hope) skippers – dug in to rebuild the host's innings after the early loss of debutant Brandon King (26), who shouldered arms to Josh Hazlewood, left them five down and still more than 100 runs in arrears.

Despite playing his first Test in more than three years, Hope instantly looked comfortable back in the red-ball arena as he got going with two firmly struck drives to the fence off Mitchell Starc.

That also freed up Chase after a watchful start the previous evening, with the senior pair batting for almost an hour-and-a-half to take the Windies to lunch.

They hit Nathan Lyon out of the attack as the veteran spinner conceded 27 from his first five overs, with Hope hitting him for a couple of boundaries and Chase crunching a six over long off.

It took some DRS fortune to break the stand after lunch with TV umpire Adrian Holdstock determining there was no inside edge after Pat Cummins (2-34) nipped a delivery back from outside off and struck Chase on the back pad.

The West Indies skipper sent it straight upstairs believing he had indeed hit it, with a little murmur appearing on 'real-time' Snicko a frame before the ball passed the bat.

But Holdstock determined there was a "clear gap" between the bat and ball prompting Chase to throw his head back in bewilderment when ball tracking showed three reds with the ball crashing into leg stump.

Australia were again on the right side of the review system later in the session when allrounder Beau Webster (2-20) picked up his second wicket as Hope was also forced to go two runs short of a half-century.

The introduction of Webster proved a masterstroke by Cummins as he found the edge of Greaves (4) in his second over before striking an even bigger blow in his third.

The right-armer drew the inside edge as Hope went after a full ball, which flew to wicketkeeper Alex Carey's left who gloved a one-handed screamer diving full stretch.

But as he rolled over the ball went very close to touching the ground and umpire Richard Kettleborough sent it upstairs for a ruling like when Starc was denied the catch of Ben Duckett at Lord's in the 2023 Ashes when he grounded the ball while not in control of his body.

However, Holdstock ruled Carey had no case to answer, siding with the Aussie 'keeper, a double blow for his Windies counterpart Hope who was denied a catch on review a day prior when it was ruled there wasn't enough evidence to say Travis Head's under-edge had carried into his gloves.

It left the hosts eight down and still 18 runs behind after the tourists' quicks tightened the screws during the second half of Hope's 91-ball stay as scoring became harder, but Alzarri Joseph threw the bat around late to give West Indies the lead when he pumped Hazlewood (2-41) back over his head for six.

Joseph finished 23 not out as the Windies took a slender 10-run lead when Lyon (1-28) returned to end their first innings on 190 as No.11 Seales (2) holed out to Webster at long on.

Starc (3-65) finished as the pick of the Aussie bowlers after adding Shamar Joseph (8) to his overnight tally of two wickets, while Cummins, Hazlewood and Webster each picked up two.

And the wickets continued to tumbled after tea when Konstas and Khawaja began Australia's second innings, with 10 all up on day two after 14 on the opening day.

Qantas Tour of the West Indies

First Test: June 25-29, Bridgetown, Barbados (midnight AEST)

Second Test: July 3-7, St George's, Grenada (midnight AEST)

Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales

First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)

Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)

Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)

Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)

Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)

West Indies T20 squad: TBC

Australia's T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa