Da Silva, Hodge finish strong for WI after bowlers carve up CA XI

ADELAIDE, Australia—Makeshift opener Joshua Da Silva hit a half-century and shared an unbroken, halfcentury stand with Kavem Hodge to steady West Indies after the bowlers gave them a tidy lead against the Cricket Australia XI in their three-day practice match on Thursday.

Da Silva was not out on 55 and Hodge was not out on 44, and the Caribbean side reached 137 for three in their second innings at the close on the second day of the match at Karen Rolton Oval, for an overall lead of 214.

The pair have so far shared 78 for the fourth wicket and brought stability to the batting of the visitors after left-arm pacer Liam Haskett grabbed two for 39 from seven overs, and they stumbled to 59 for three.

Led by the pace bowling trio of Kemar Roach, Shamar Joseph, and the unrelated Alzarri Joseph, West Indies gave proof that they were determined to put up a fight when they bowled out the CA XI for 174 before tea to grab a firstinnings lead of 77.

Roach, the most experienced member of the attack, ended with two for 23 from nine overs, uncapped Shamar Joseph bagged two for 28 from eight overs, and vice-captain Alzarri Joseph finished with two for 40 from 10 overs. The practice match is the only contest West Indies will play before they meet hosts and World champions Australia in a two-Test series, starting on January 17 at the Adelaide Oval before moving to the Gabba in Brisbane on January 25.

The West Indies top order failed to ease concerns that they could be “lambs to the slaughter” in the higher-intensity matches against Australia when the lefthanded trio of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, and Alick Athanaze all fell for insignificant scores.

Chanderpaul was caught at gully off Haskett for a duck, guiding a rising, third ball of the innings; McKenzie was caught at mid-wicket off the same bowler for nine, playing a whip; and Athanaze was caught at first slip off pacer Liam Scott for 16, edging a loose drive.

Da Silva got into stride with a pull-off Haskett through square leg for four and he added another seven in the 95 balls he faced, bringing up his 50 from 67 balls when he pulled off-spinner Doug Warren through mid-wicket for his seventh boundary.

Hodge, one of three batsmen to get a half-century in the first innings, did his chances of a maiden Test cap no harm with a 67-ball innings that has so far been decorated with seven fours, including two cover drives in three balls in the final over of Haskett’s spell.

Earlier, West Indies declared overnight on 251 for eight in their first innings, and they got an early indication about how rough it could be against the Aussies when left-handed opener Tim Ward cracked seven fours in 50 from 88 balls before lunch.

Shamar Joseph produced the breakthrough for the Caribbean side when he got opener Jayden Goodwin caught behind for 18 from a loose drive and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie struck on the stroke of lunch when he got Ward caught at slip four balls after the batsman had reached the half-century mark.

Joseph struck with the fourth ball after the CA XI resumed from 94 for two at lunch when he bowled Teague Wyllie for 13 to spark a period of turbulence for the home team during which they lost six wickets for 22 runs in the span of 43 balls.

Roach got Jack Clayton caught at backward point from a miscued hook at a short, rising ball before the home team had reached 100, and Test selectee Peter Handscomb caught at third slip for nine, edging a loose drive four overs later.

Next over, Alzarri Joseph got into the act with two wickets in four balls when he had Jake Doran spectacularly caught at mid-on by a diving Roach for eight, and Liam Scott caught at first slip for a five-ball duck to send the CA XI sliding to 116 for seven.

West Indies did not ease up, but they chose to give a few of the other bowlers in the side an opportunity, and the CA XI crawled past the 150 mark thanks to 24 from Bradley Hope batting at eight, before off-spinner Kevin Sinclair brought the innings to a close when he got Haskett caught at leg-slip for 10.