Australia men’s head coach Andrew McDonald believes his batters struggled against debutant Shamar Joseph in the series opener at Adelaide Oval due to them facing the fast-bowler for the first time. He added that facing Joseph won’t be an issue going into the second Test in Brisbane after having a good-enough look of him at Adelaide. Joseph became just the 14th player in the history of Tests, and the first from the West Indies, to take a five-wicket haul on debut, by recording figures of 5/94, including taking Steve Smith out on his first ball in the format. With the bat, he made 36 and 15 as a number eleven batter in both innings of West Indies’ batting, thus becoming a bright spot for the hosts’ despite suffering a ten-wicket defeat. Tim David Joins ILT20 Franchise MI Emirates as 'Wildcard Player' Ahead of Australia's Squad Announcement for T20Is Against West Indies.

“I think there’s an element with, in particular, Joseph… sight unseen is always difficult for batters, when you haven’t seen someone and got used to their rhythm and the cues that they present, sometimes you do get drawn into shots.”

“We saw that with Marnus (Labuschagne) as well, I think that was maybe his second bouncer and he probably didn’t have the cues and rushed him a little bit and it brought about his demise. So we feel as though now that there's less unknowns going into the second Test match. We've had a good look at them. A lot of those little decision-making errors that may have crept in I think will have ironed themselves out. But there’s nothing like being out in the middle and facing them, it’s the difference between looking at footage and the cues you get out there," said McDonald to reporters.

Asked about judging Steve Smith’s first game as Australia’s Test opener, McDonald felt it was harsh to rate his efforts based on a very small sample size. "Sample size of one is always difficult to judge. We're comfortable with where it's all landed. We feel as though that top six and the way they complement each other gives us the best opportunity to maximize (scores)."

"We're very comfortable with Smudge at the top of the order and then seeing Cameron Green back out there in the field, with ball and bat in hand was great to see as well. So we're optimistic that they will work and I suppose hindsight will tell us everything."

McDonald also defended the decision to release reverse batter Matthew Renshaw from the squad to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) qualifier. He would have been forced to rush from to rejoin the Test team in Adelaide if Usman Khawaja being stuck on the head had become more serious. Khawaja will need to pass another concussion Test in the lead-up to the second Test at The Gabba.

"I think the information that comes from Uzzy (Khawaja) will then dictate how that sort of unfolds. I suppose the positive for the Brisbane Heat is that the final now will be on the east coast somewhere which makes it probably time-friendly to be able to potentially play the final. If it was on the west coast it would be much more difficult."

"We consider the risk when we release players and I think it's about 0.5% chance in terms of a concussion happening. So it was ironic that the first time we've let a player go back during the Big Bash that there was a head knock." BBL 2023-24: Glenn Maxwell Set to Step Down as Melbourne Stars Captain.

"Fortunately enough, the game was in a position where we thought that it wasn't going to be a higher risk than necessary. So we were happy for Renners to go back and perform for the Heat. We feel as though we've got flexibility when we need to be able to release players and we like seeing players play."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 20, 2024 12:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).