Aussies seal dominant series win as Carey equals record

A record catching haul by keeper Alex Carey and another historic milestone for spinner Nathan Lyon crowned Australia's 419-run win which completed a one-sided clean sweep over West Indies in the NRMA Insurance Series.

Carey's six catches saw him join keeping predecessors Wally Grout, Rod Marsh, Ian Healy and Brad Haddin as holders of the benchmark for most dismissals in a Test innings by an Australia stumper.

But more impressive than the raw total was the manner in which they were achieved, with Carey taking three stunning grabs in the final overs of the West Indies innings which ended at a paltry 77, having lost their final four batters for the addition of eight runs this afternoon.

To complete a triumphant Test for the home town heroes, Carey's South Australia teammate and close mate Travis Head was named player of the match for his 175 in Australia's first innings.

Marnus Labuschagne was deservedly adjudged player of the series, having posted a double-century and two hundreds from his four visits to the batting crease during Australia's utter dominance.

After Scott Boland's triple-wicket over last night, Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser helped themselves to three wickets apiece today.

While all Australia's bowlers shared in the wickets as they tumbled at pace last night and again when play resumed this morning, it was Carey's central role that grabbed the limelight even though the Test ended before it truly needed the floodlights.

After West Indies seventh-wicket pair Joshua da Silva and Roston Chase stalled the victory surge with a 20-run stand either side of the day's first drinks break, a plan was hatched to curtail both men who were batting outside the crease to try and negate the nagging Australia seamers.

Even though Neser was bowling at around 130kph, Carey took himself up to the stumps and was immediately rewarded when he clung on to a remarkable catch off Chase.

A thick edge from Chase's bat deflected on to Carey's right shoulder, from where it bobbled beneath the keeper's chin in keeping with his previous sporting incarnation as an AFL player with Greater Western Sydney Giants.

The fact the breakthrough came from the first delivery in which the ploy had been tried explained the spontaneous celebration between Carey and his teammates.

Given he was not required to bat during the first Test in Perth where he was presented with just one catch, the 31-year-old revelled in his chance to play a pivotal part by claiming an even better snare at the end of the same over.

This time, he once again hovered over the stumps against his rival gloveman da Silva whose thin edge nestled neatly into Carey's gauntlets thereby justifying the extra up-to-the-stumps work the South Australian had undertaken with his keeping mentor, Tim Nielsen, prior to this Test.

Then, to round out a remarkable five minutes and crown Australia's huge win, Carey finished the innings by reverting back to his traditional position for pace bowling and diving in front of David Warner at slip to pluck a one-handed grab in the webbing of his right glove.

"There's only a very small club that knows how good that is, and they are the guys that have wicket-kept," former New Zealand gloveman Ian Smith said in commentary for Fox Cricket after Carey's dismissal of Chase.

"As a former wicketkeeper you just sit back and admire this."

In between those highlights, Lyon added his own by rattling the stumps of tailebder Alzarri Joseph who tried to belt him out of the ground, thereby becoming just the third Australia bowler (after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath) to reach 450 Test wickets.

The 2-0 clean sweep extends Australia's lead at the top of the ICC's World Test Championship ahead of the biennial final at The Oval next June.

Pat Cummins' team – albeit led by Steve Smith in this match due to the regular captain's thigh injury – is now 12 WTC percentage points ahead of second-placed South Africa who they meet in the three-match NRMA Insurance Series starting at the Gabba on Saturday.

The West Indies can take a measure of solace from knowing today's batting effort was not the most abject seen at the back-end of a day-night Test in Adelaide, given India famously folded for 36 in the corresponding fixture two years ago.

But India fans can counter that by pointing out they went on to triumph in two of the ensuing Tests that summer to claim a remarkable series win on Australia soil, something the West Indies have not achieved across six campaigns here stretching across three decades.

And since that most recent success of 1992-93, the one-time powerhouse of world cricket have won just two Tests in Australia, with both of those coming in the summer of 1996-97 on the back of the individual brilliance of former greats Brian Lara and Curtly Ambrose.

They will have an opportunity to end their 25-year winless streak on Australia's turf when they return next summer for a two-Test visit, but it will require an extraordinary turnaround over the intervening 12 months.

It had taken just three overs for Australia to make the day's first incision, when Devon Thomas flashed an ambitious drive at Starc and presented Carey with his third catch of the innings, having added four to his overnight score.

With the top half of the visitors batting order back in the sheds with less than 50 runs on the board, the only possible impediment to a quick conclusion was the showers forecast for Adelaide although even they were tipped to be as fleeting as the West Indies' resistance.

Perhaps to help to create the illusion the day-night Test would push into its twilight phase, the floodlights blazed before 3pm under thick cloud.

But there was no chance of this match making dusk on day four.

Starc ended a forgettable tour for former West Indies skipper Jason Holder in the ninth over of the afternoon when he swung the pink ball between the right-hander's speculative bat and front pad to knock back his off stump.

Holder was the world's top-ranked Test all-rounder as recently as 2019, and currently sits fifth on that list.

But he averaged just over 10 with the bat in this NRMA Insurance Series with a highest score of 27, and his sole wicket in 65 overs with the ball (average 223) came when Smith bunted a return catch on day one at Adelaide.

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v West Indies

First Test: Australia won by 164 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 419 runs

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Marquino Mindley, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas

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