West Indies pacemen reduce Australia to 99-6 in third test, an overall lead of 181

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Cameron Green produced a defiant innings as Australia struggled to 99-6 for an overall lead of 181 in the face of hostile fast bowling from the West Indies under lights Sunday on Day 2 of the third cricket test.

Green was 42 not out at stumps and with captain Pat Cummins (5) managed to arrest the slide of the Australian second innings in difficult night conditions at Sabina Park.

The pace bowlers dominated all three sessions Sunday with 15 wickets fell across both teams.

Australia’s all-pace attack had earlier given the visitors the upper hand when it dismissed the West Indies for 143 in the late afternoon to take an 82-run first-innings lead.

When the lights were turned on, Australia faced a tough contest with the swinging pink ball and especially initimidating bowling from Alzarri Joseph (3-19) and Shamar Joseph (2-26) as it tried to build its advantage.

Australia lost Sam Konstas to a five-ball duck in the second over from Shamar Joseph which set in motion the decline of its second innings. The 19-year-old Konstas has had a disappointing series, tallying 50 runs in six innings.

Usman Khawaja (14) and Steve Smith (5) both were bowled in conditions which again encouraged the pace bowlers.

Alzarri Joseph took two wickets in the 21st over as Australia slumped to 69-6.

Beau Webster hit a boundary from the first ball he faced, promising to match fire with fire, but was out for 13, bowled by Alzarri Joseph. Alex Carey was stuck on the helmet on the next delivery and was out to the same bowler two balls later.

“We wanted seven wickets. We got six wickets,” Shamar Joseph said. “So I’m actually pleased with that performance.

“The West Indies have a great legacy of fast bowlers. Our young generation just want to continue it and do our best. I actually think anything (target) under 200, to 200 we definitely could chase that.”

Scott Boland took 3-34 and Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins snared two wickes apiece as the West Indies were dismissed in just over 52 overs in their first innings. The last West Indies wicket fell just before the dinner break, by which time 20 wickets had fallen in five sessions.

John Campbell and Shai Campbell provided some resistance as the West Indies made painstaking progress against the Australia pacers after resuming Sunday at 16-1.

The West Indies took honors on the first day, bowling out Australia for 225, then negotiating the final 40 minutes before stumps in the face of aggressive bowling in difficult conditions under the floodlights.

The Australian bowlers maintained good line and length in the first session on Day 2, making scoring difficult and bringing the stumps and lbw into play. The West Indies added only 57 runs in 23 overs before the first interval for the loss of Brandon King (14) and Roston Chase (18).

The West Indies lost seven wickets for 70 runs in the second session as Australia asserted control.

Campbell produced an eventful and patient 36 in 97 minutes. He was lucky not to be run out at 15 when he jabbed a ball to mid-on and set off for a quick single.

Cummins’ under-arm throw hit the stumps on the full and it seemed Campbell's bat might have bounced at the same time. But the umpires chose to review, ruling the Australians had not appealed. Cummins challenged the decision without success.

Campbell eventually was out lbw to Boland, not offering a shot to a ball which seamed back more than he expected.

Hope also had a second chance when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Boland when he was 21. The reprieve was shot-lived and he was bowled by Boland two balls later without adding to his score. Carey earlier dropped Justin Greaves off Mitchell Starc but neither error was costly.

When Hope was out the rest of the West Indies wickets tumbled quickly, the last five falling for 19 runs.

Australia’s bowlers have dominated the series after winning the first two tests — by 159 runs in Barbados then by 133 runs in Grenada — to secure the Frank Worrell Trophy.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

West Indies' Alzarri Joseph bowls against Australia on day two of the third Test cricket match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Shamar Joseph is bowled by Australia's Scott Boland on day two of the third Test cricket match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Australia's Scott Boland celebrates running out West Indies' Justin Greaves on day two of the third Test cricket match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Shamar Joseph reacts after a delivery to Australia's Cameron Green on day two of the third Test cricket match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Alzarri Joseph celebrates taking the wicket of Australia's Beau Webster on day two of the third Test cricket match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)