Australia vs. West Indies, 2nd Test: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

After being thoroughly beaten in the first Test against Australia, the West Indies will be looking to find a way to bounce back in the Boxing Day Test.

Date: Saturday Dec. 26—Wednesday Dec. 30

Time: 10:30 a.m. local (23:30 p.m. GMT)

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground

Live Stream and TV Info: Channel Nine (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Sky Sports 2 (UK), Super Sport (South Africa), Now TV (subscription required)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the forecast is good for most of the Tests, with the chance of thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday. Those storms shouldn't be so severe that they wash out a whole day's play, though. 

Overview 

Captaining a team is never an easy job. Captaining a team that is in a slump that they can’t seem to get out of is even tougher. For Jason Holder, who is tasked with finding a way to motivate his team after an innings defeat in the first Test against Australia, the job is very tough indeed.

But that has not dampened the young man’s spirits. He was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying:

"

It's not a burden, I'm enjoying the challenge.

It'll take time before we get the results we're looking for. We need to build and keep building. We need to put something on the table that we can build on.

At the present time we've been fluctuating with a good performance here and then a bad performance there.

"

Progress has not been visible, but it's not complete doom and gloom. In the first Test, Darren Bravo at least managed to score a century. Kraigg Brathwaite managed to engineer 94 runs when everyone was collapsing around him.

But the concern is that not a single other batsman passed more than 31. Still, the Windies batsmen should know that it is possible to score runs, even against an intimidating Australian attack.

The bowling was far more challenging, with the two opening bowlers conceding over 200 runs between them. Just one bowler—Holder—had an economy rate of under 4.00 in the first Test and this will be one of the key areas that will need improving.

For Australia, the key is to not get so over confident that they take the West Indies lightly. While that’s an unlikely scenario, it’s probably their weak spot.

Key players

Australia

Josh Hazlewood put in a sterling performance in the first Test and admitted that he is thriving under the extra responsibility. Australia’s arsenal of young fast bowlers have shown that they are ready to take off where Mitchell Johnson stopped when he retired from Test cricket. And with the Melbourne surface likely to offer the bowlers something, Hazlewood should be in his element.

West Indies

Jason Holder has played just 11 Tests and has only recently taken over as captain, but he has showed all the signs of being a promising talent. There were signs of those talents in the first Test and now it’s time to come good and make it count.

Squads

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges. Standby player: Scott Boland.

West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite (vc), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajindra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican.