Star Australia pacer Mitchell Starc made an initial impact in his 100th Test, as the Windies reached 16/1 in response to Australia’s first innings total of 225 on Day 1 of the day/night third Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Saturday, July 12. Starc, who had been dismissed for a “duck” in an eventful final session as the tourists slipped from 157/3, bowled debutant Kevlon Anderson off the inside edge to take his tally of Test wickets to 396. Anderson and Brandon King faced the challenge of resisting the Aussie bowlers under lights with the new pink ball, after selected openers John Campbell and Mikyle Louis were injured in the field. King and skipper Roston Chase will resume on Day 2, with the Windies hoping that both Campbell and Louis will be fit to bat later in the innings as they seek consolation, having already lost the series after losses in the first two Tests in Barbados and Grenada. Shamar Joseph led the Windies’ bowling effort with 4/33, bringing his series-leading total to 18 wickets. Jayden Seales and Justin Greaves took three wickets each on a track that offered significant seam movement but still had enough in it to encourage the spinners. This raised questions about the visitors’ decision to omit veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon in favour of an additional pacer, Scott Boland. Seven of the visitors’ top eight batters, all-rounder Beau Webster being the exception, passed 15 runs, though none managed to convert their starts into a substantial knock to put their team in a dominant position. Turgid, almost tedious cricket characterised the first two sessions, with Australia advancing to 138/3 by the dinner break. However, a frenetic passage of play followed, triggered by the dismissal of Steve Smith for a top score of 48, as Australia lost their last seven wickets for 68 runs in 15 overs. Smith and Cameron Green (46) added 61 runs for the third wicket, in the sole period during daylight hours when the bat threatened to dominate the ball. “It was almost like he was batting on a different wicket,” Green said at the end of play, appreciating Smith’s positive innings. “I was struggling out there, but he is a class above.” Despite the batting collapse in the final session, Green, who is unable to bowl for at least another three months, was content with his side’s position after the opening day. “We just wanted to give them a tricky last 45 minutes at the end, and to get them one down is crucial,” he added. An almost T20-style approach to batting, exemplified by skipper Pat Cummins’ successive sixes off Seales, reflected Australia’s eagerness to score in the final session to give their bowlers a good opportunity against the Windies’ depleted top order under the lights. This frenetic tempo at the end contrasted with the slow opening session, made exciting just by the antics of opener Sam Konstas. He was almost run out by Campbell and then dropped at third slip by Anderson off consecutive deliveries from Seales, before being dismissed LBW for 17 by the first delivery bowled by Greaves. Anderson, who replaced Keacy Carty, was one of three changes to the Windies side from the second Test. That game was Kraigg Brathwaite’s 100th in Tests and his last, as he was dropped in favour of Louis for the series finale, while left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican returned at the expense of pacer Anderson Phillip. (With AFP Inputs)