As so often in Test cricket, drama saved itself for the dying overs of the day. With 90 remaining minutes ticking down towards 60 on the second day of the second Test in Grenada, tactically minded onlookers started to think about West Indies’ last-wicket partnership. Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales were defending with heart, on their way to facing 65 balls and adding 16 runs. With Australia having made 286 the previous day, their stand took West Indies from 49 runs behind to 33. But each over that they chose to keep batting rather than swing for runs, they reduced the time available to bowl at an Australian top order under pressure.
In the end, there were 30 minutes left when Australia began the third innings. And in the end, that was enough to account for both openers, raising the tension another notch with only two more opportunities for them to bat in a Test before the Ashes. So much attention has been on young Sam Konstas, after struggles in Barbados and a briefly improved showing in the first innings here. He has only once before faced the pressure of a brief late Tests innings, in Sydney when he foolishly provoked Jasprit Bumrah and brought about Usman Khawaja’s wicket next ball.
