Australia vs West Indies: Reasons for Australia's summer revival in the first Test match

However, one ODI series whitewash against England later as well as a thumping win over West Indies in the first of two Tests, and suddenly the picture looks a lot rosier. 

But what is the reason for this sudden revival of Australia's fortunes? Let's take a look:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just in: The latest on Pat Cummins, &amp; Aussie coach McDonald ponders the changing nature of Test pitches <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvWI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvWI</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ARamseyCricket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARamseyCricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wqkfgR7kib">https://t.co/wqkfgR7kib</a></p>&mdash; cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketcomau/status/1599615571771150336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Players suited to format – The most significant reason Australia are doing so well in the Test match is that their best players are best suited to flourish in this format. Steve Smith is a living legend of Test cricket, and in Marnus Labuschagne, they have a batsman who can anchor their middle order for years to come. 

Even the likes of David Warner and Travis Head are solid players in the most extended format of the game, especially in home conditions. And yes, the pitch lacking any major demons certainly helped, but that takes nothing away from how Australia played. 

So the one key reason for Australia's success is that, for all the doom and gloom that followed their T20 World Cup upset, they do have a squad that is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Test cricket. 

Lack of quality opposition – This is meant as no disrespect to the West Indies, but it is also apparent that their squad is nowhere close to the levels of the Australian team. This has been evident for quite some time but was brutally exposed in the first Test. 

It didn't help matters that their bowling lacked teeth in the early goings, but the simple fact is that with the batting order they have, they were always going to be on hiding to nothing when it comes to Test cricket Down Under. 

And that was precisely how it played out, even if their batsmen – particularly skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul – did show some fight later in the game. In the end, though, they were no match for the Aussies. 

Formidable bowling attack – One of Australia's most significant issues in the T20 World Cup was their bowlers struggling for form. Mitchell Starc was so off-colour he was dropped for a must-win game against Bangladesh. Pat Cummins persisted but didn't do much better; only Josh Hazlewood shone in the World Cup. 

But they're all fine bowlers in Tests, especially Starc and Cummins, the latter of whom can legitimately stake a claim to being one of the star bowlers in that format. And it showed how they made the West Indies batting bow down to their tune. 

This was true in both innings, as the pitch did not have too much to offer up to the bowlers. Yet the Aussie bowlers were able to dismiss the West Indian batters not just once but twice in the span of the Test match.