Australia vs. West Indies, 1st Test, Day 1: Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh Dominate
Australia's gamble to bat first on a slightly green pitch paid off spectacularly as they ended Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies on a staggering 438 for three.
After a pre-lunch wobble that saw them slip from 75 without loss to 121 for three, the hosts piled on the runs in Hobart, Tasmania.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh shared an unbroken partnership worth 317 for the fourth wicket, with both players reaching important centuries for not only the team, but also their own Test careers.
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Voges reached the close on 174 not out, while Marsh was unbeaten on 139.
Here, Bleacher Report looks at some of the major talking points from a one-sided opening day of the series.
Marsh's Moment
If Usman Khawaja had not injured his hamstring during the second Test of the recent home series against New Zealand, Shaun Marsh would have been watching someone else fill their boots at the Bellerive Oval.
However, one man's misfortune is another's opportunity. Crucially, Marsh has made the most of what feels like yet another chance to play Test cricket for Australia.
Had he failed to score runs before Khawaja was back to full fitness, it may well have been the end of the road for the left-hander.
In 15 previous Test appearances spread across four years, Marsh had made two centuries. Neither had come on home soil, and he was in serious danger of becoming no more than a temporary stand-in.
Now, though, his first hundred in Australia has given the national selectors a serious headache.
Khawaja made 174, nine not out and 121 in his three knocks against the Kiwis before pulling up lame.
Per Cricket Australia's official website, he "will use a quickfire stint with Sydney Thunder" playing in the KFC Big Bash League to show he is fit to play in the Boxing Day Test.
However, now his replacement, Marsh, has hit a three-figure score of his own.
With Voges' recent runs making him an automatic selection, and captain Steve Smith obviously needing a place somewhere in the batting order, someone is going to have to be unfortunate to miss out.
Caribbean Classic
The West Indies must be sick of the sight of Voges.
The right-hander marked his Test debut at the age of 35 with a century in Roseau, Windward Islands, on Australia's tour to the Caribbean back in June.
Now, on home turf, Voges made the West Indians suffer again.
Australia were hardly wobbling when he came to the crease, but their innings was in danger of wasting a fast start when they found themselves three wickets down at lunch.
However, feasting on some very generous bowling, Voges made a run-a-ball hundred. He swept the ball extremely well, reaching three figures in a hurry thanks to 16 fours.
It was his second ton of the home summer, having already hit 119 in the second Test against New Zealand in Perth.
There has only been one double hundred scored in a Test played in Hobart (Tasmanian Ricky Ponting's 209 against Pakistan in 2010). Voges threatened to reach the milestone in one day.
In the end, he had to settle for just the 174 runs on Thursday. After a tough Ashes tour that could well have seen him canned, Voges has quickly become a pillar of strength in the Test XI.
As ESPN Cricinfo journalist Brydon Coverdale pointed out on Twitter, his numbers against West Indies look rather healthy right now:
Tourists Toil
For those who grew up watching their fast bowlers tear through opposing teams, the decline of the West Indies cricket team is sad to see.
While opposing batsmen may be glad the days of a four-man pace attack from the Caribbean are long gone, the international game would benefit greatly from having a strong West Indies.
Prior to the series getting under way against Australia, Tim Wigmore produced an excellent feature in the Guardian that laid bare the decline in standards since the halcyon days:
"The striking aspect of the West Indies’ decline is not merely their descent from the imperious team that went 29 Test series unbeaten until Australia’s epic triumph in the Caribbean in 1995, but how much worse the side is than in the 30 years after the second world war.
From 1945 until the end of their 5-1 defeat in Australia in 1975-76, the West Indies won 46 and lost 41 of their 142 Tests.
Since England’s unlikely triumph at Lord’s in June 2000, the West Indies have won just 14 of their 132 matches against the top eight Test sides; 80 have been lost.
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The article also again highlights the possibility that the West Indies Cricket Board may yet be fragmented, with the islands deciding to go it alone.
The disintegration of an iconic organisation—with those instantly recognisable burgundy caps—would seem a shame.
Perhaps, though, it is necessary to break it all down and start again from scratch, as the West Indies vintage of 2015 looked woeful on Day 1 in Tasmania.
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones—who had the "pleasure" of going up against some of the all-time great bowlers the West Indies produced—tweeted his opinion of Jason Holder's side:
The seam bowlers—once the backbone of the West Indies' success—were inaccurate and expensive.
Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican picked up two wickets, but he still went at more than five runs per over. Skipper Holder used seven bowlers in total, but only he himself offered any sort of control.
It will have made tough viewing for many to watch this current touring team. But, there are also now a generation of cricket fans who have never known anything but a weak West Indies. Now that is really sad.
What Will Happen in This Test?
The glut of runs on Day 1 leaves West Indies in serious trouble already.
The writing is on the wall: Australia pile up a huge score, which the tourists fail to match in two attempts to lose by an innings inside four days.
Voges and Marsh pummelled Australia well past 400 in 89 overs. The home team will have 600 in their sights, then look to declare and let their bowlers go to work.
A pace attack without the retired Mitchell Johnson and the injured Mitchell Starc would have welcomed the chance to bowl on the first morning, but they will have plenty of runs to play with when they get their turn.
They will not be as wayward as their opponents. Gifted a glimmer of hope at the toss, the West Indies were wasteful of the chance to make an early impact. Now, they are staring down the barrel of a big defeat.
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