Jayden Seales has claimed five-wicket hauls before, but none felt quite like this.
The 23-year-old fast bowler battled through an uncharacteristically sluggish day on the opening day of the ICC Test Championship clash against Australia to finish with figures of 5-60 and help dismiss the visitors for 180 at Kensington Oval.
It was his third five-for in the format, but for Seales, it carried a deeper meaning, not just for its impact, but for the personal resilience it demanded.
"This probably is my best five-wicket haul because it wasn’t my best day. I didn’t feel at my best at any time throughout the day. There were moments when I felt good, but I just didn’t feel like I was in full control of what I wanted to do or was executing or nailing my lengths and lines as consistently as I wanted. So this one is probably my most special one," Seales said in a post-day conference.
Seales’ efforts, along with a fiery opening spell from Shamar Joseph, who took 4-46, put the West Indies in a strong position early on. However, Australia’s formidable bowling attack responded in kind to reduce the hosts to 57-4 by stumps. It left the match delicately poised, but Seales remained optimistic.
“I think the game is in the balance. We did well with the ball, and we knew they’d come hard with their experienced bowling unit. I think going into tomorrow (Thursday), we need to get through that first hour and the first session without losing a wicket, or one at most, because we've already lost four, and then we can try to apply the pressure," Seales said.
That said, Seales pointed out that West Indies entered this contest with a plan and a sense of opportunity. Without the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in the Australian top order, they sensed vulnerability. And they didn’t waste time capitalising.
"We spoke about it. We knew that coming into the Caribbean, pitches are a lot slower than what they were accustomed to in Australia. And especially this pitch, with the grass being how it is and the colour of the pitch, we knew that there was vulnerability within the batting line-up and more so with the pitch, so we just tried our best to exploit it," he revealed.
While his opening wicket came via the dismissal of Josh Inglis, followed by that of Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, Seales pointed to Joseph’s destructive early spell—removing Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, and Usman Khawaja—as the turning point of the innings.
"I think that's what opened the game right up for us. Blowing away the top order is the most important thing in Test cricket, and then that made it a lot easier for us in the middle and in the back end of the innings," Seales reasoned.
The Trinidad and Tobago stalwart's approach on the day was clear and methodical as he attacked early, contained in the middle, and was ruthless at the end.
“With the new ball, it was about making the batsman play as much on that good length, just outside off, some going away or coming back from there. If nothing was happening in the middle overs, I focused on staying straight and being as economical as possible.
"So it was simple, just to force the batsman to come at me, and in the back end where the tail was, the plan was just to be clinical and have that killer instinct that we spoke about throughout the camps leading up to the first game, and it paid off," Seales ended.