Mumbai: Mitchell Starc ripped through West Indies’ top order in his opening over in the third Test and went on to shatter the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The left-arm quick bowler took five wickets in a staggering 15 balls in Jamaica to improve his career figures to 6 for 9 as Australia thrashed the Caribbean side by 176 runs to register a 3-0 series whitewash. West Indies, having chased down 204 for a win, were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest total in Test history, in a remarkable turnaround from the first two matches in the series, where they had put up a fight.
The 34-year-old hit the stumps of opener John Campbell with his very first delivery, and the batsman was caught by the substitute keeper Josh Inglis for a duck. The next over, debutant Kevlon Anderson was lbw, and in the next delivery, Brandon King’s stumps were knocked over for 1. The hosts were in tatters at the end of the first over at 0/3, and the fourth over had seen Starc remove Shamar Joseph (0) and Justin Greaves (0) as well. The Australian seamer then completed his five-wicket haul by dismissing Mikyle Louis (4) and Shai Hope (2) in the fifth over to record the quickest five-for in Tests. He would go on to record figures of 6/9 to become the first bowler to reach career-best returns of 6/9 or better in Tests and the second bowler after Anil Kumble to reach career-best figures of 6/10 or better. Scott Boland took a hat trick—Shamar Joseph (0), Justin Greaves (1), and Jomel Warrican (0)—to finish the job for Australia, with the West Indies total remaining at 26/9. Josh Hazlewood would also take one wicket as Starc took the final delivery of the innings to end the match by bowling Jayden Seales. Seven batsmen were dismissed for ducks, and only the New Zealand total of 26 all out in 1955 is lower than the Windies total on this day.
“I think it’s been a fantastic series,” Starc said after the final on July 14. “That last game, the conditions were challenging, and our bowling attack was on. I will return home filled with joy. But it’s just unfortunate the way the game has gone the other way as well.”
Chasing 204 for an improbable win, West Indies found themselves under the pump straightaway, but then too, they failed to make their presence felt as Australia went on to complete a 3-0 whitewash with ease. West Indies captain Roston Chase admitted it was embarrassing. “To get dismissed for 27 is very hard to take, very, very heartbreaking,” he told reporters. “It’s the same thing we talk about—from the first innings to the last ball of the Test match. We’ve been there before. We talk about this a lot, but then again, we’re finding ourselves in the same spot; it is embarrassing, to be honest.”
Australia, whose captain Pat Cummins was rested for this match, jumped to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table by completing a series whitewash in this cycle opener. They had reached the finals in the previous two cycles and now start the 2025-27 cycle with a clean sweep and lead the table. Second on the WTC points table is England, winner of the most recent Test in the longest format at Lord’s with a 22-run win over India, followed by Sri Lanka, who has won one of two Tests so far in their two series this year, and India, who remains in fourth place despite the loss in Jamaica. All these teams will play in the inaugural WTC cycle in 2023–25, and so will the West Indies and New Zealand, who have yet to win a Test in the next two series as the defending world champions.
Starc, in his 100th Test, also took his 400th Test wicket in this match to become the fourth Australian to reach the milestone after Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Nathan Lyon. He did it with the pink ball that he’s most comfortable with, in Jamaica, in front of a big crowd, to add another feather to his cap as one of Australia’s all-time greats. As the teams prepare to take on each other in a five-match T20 series starting on July 21, the memories of the third Test and Starc’s record-breaking spell will stay.