Goat's Head Coup

Australia bowled out for 225, West Indies 1-16

Australia battled hard against the seaming pink ball in the first sessions, getting to tea at 3-138, thanks to a pair of not-quite-half centuries from Smith and Green, then the sun set. Kingston is no place for the faint of heart after dark. The tourists lost their composure and 7-68 under the lights, leaving them 45 minutes to have a crack at the West Indies top order in what should have been the toughest conditions of the day.

Kraigg Brathwaite had been dropped after celebrating his 100th, so Kevlon Anderson, on debut, and the elevated Brandon King were called on to find a way. The only thing surprising about Starc’s inswinger to remove Anderson was that it hadn’t come sooner than when it did, on his 13th delivery. There’s something inevitable about Starc when the ball is swinging like this. The left-armer has a record 75 wickets at 17.9 in pink ball Tests. And, while he’d struck the pads several times, most were doing too much. The Windies might have been advised to reverse their order like teams once did on uncovered pitches of yore. As it was, they will be happy to have escaped that nine-over spell for the loss of just one wicket.

The portents weren’t good for Nathan Lyon. Saturday’s lunch special was mannish water, a local soup made from the various parts of a goat, including the head and even the hoof.

At lunch today, they served a sumptuous goat curry.

Before the first ball was bowled, selector Tony Dodemaide huddled with the travelling press pack to explain their decision to drop the man they know as the Goat from the Test team for the first time since the Ashes 2013.

“We thought the exceptional circumstances justified having the four quicks so that we could rotate those guys and keep the pressure on," Dodemaide said. "On a well-grassed surface and a hard surface with lots of nighttime play hours, that was the best way to win the game."

One imagines it did not sit well with Lyon, who has 562 career Test wickets, including six in Grenada. His long-time teammate and friend, Mitchell Starc, is celebrating his 100th Test. The Goat respects the milestones and rituals of the game more than most.

Perhaps, however, he felt it in his waters. At the start of this tour, he passed custody of the team song to Alex Carey, thus avoiding an awkward situation should Australia win here.