Tag: West Indies vs Australia

BASSETERRE: Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets to help Australia beat the West Indies here on Monday to sweep the five-match T20I series.

The 31-year-old pacer dismissed both openers early and returned later to claim the prized wicket of top-scorer Shimron Hetmyer.

Chasing a modest 171 to win the fifth T20I, Australia recovered from 25-3 and 60-4 to score 173-7 with three overs to spare.

Cameron Green anchored the middle-order recovery with 32, big-hitting Tim David raced to 30 off 12 balls with four sixes and a four, and Mitchell Owen scored 37.

When Green departed, Australia were 141-6, still needing 30, and the West Indies sniffed a consolation win.

But Aaron Hardie kept his composure to see Australia home by three wickets with an unbeaten 28.

“I didn’t expect 5-0 at the start of the series. But we played some great cricket,” said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh.

West Indies captain Shai Hope pinpointed the reason for his team’s failure to win a match.

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“We never put together a proper batting display. We either started well or finished poorly, or the other way round,” said Hope. “Against a quality team, you can’t get away with that.”

The West Indies were in trouble early, having been asked to bat when the Australia captain won the toss.

Ben Dwarshuis removed Brandon King for 11 and Hope for nine to reduce the hosts to 22-2 in the fourth over.

That became 64-4 until Hetmyer led a fightback, hitting three fours and three sixes on his way to a half-century.

It looked like the left-hander might take the West Indies to a challenging total, but Dwarshuis returned to induce a miscue to Sean Abbott at long-off from a slower bouncer.

Hetmyer departed for 52 from 31 balls to leave West Indies 155-7 in the 17th over.

“It was a little bit of a slower wicket, so we tried to hit the wicket hard and use the slower balls as well,” said Dwarshuis, who was named player of the match.

Australia also won the three Tests which preceded the T20 series to sweep all eight matches on the tour.

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Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Kishore Shallow has called for an emergency meeting with past greats after the team was bowled out for just 27 runs in their loss to Australia during the third Test.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc took 6-9 as the West Indies made the second-lowest score in Test history, suffering a humiliating 176-run defeat at Sabina Park on Monday.

West Indies just avoided New Zealand’s record low of 26, set in 1955, and Shallow said there would be an inquest to review a dismal 3-0 series loss.

“The result hurts deeply, not only because of how we lost, but because of what West Indies cricket has always represented to our people: pride, identity, and possibility,” Kishore said in a statement.

“There will be some sleepless nights ahead for many of us, including the players, who I know feel this loss just as heavily.”

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The previous lowest total for the West Indies was the 47 they scored against England in 2004, before the recent Kingston Test against Australia.

“We are in a rebuilding phase, steadily investing in the next generation, and reigniting the spirit that has long made West Indies cricket a force in the world,” said Kishore.

“Progress is rarely straightforward. It takes time, perseverance, and belief, especially in our most difficult moments. The road ahead will test us,” he added.

“Now is not the time to turn away.”

Kishore said he had invited West Indies greats Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, and Brian Lara to take part in discussions concerning the team’s decline, which also saw them fail to qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, played in India.

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BARBADOS: Josh Hazlewood claimed figures of 5-43 as Australia bundled the West Indies for just 141 to complete a comprehensive 159-run victory in the final over of the third day of the first Test at Kensington Oval on Friday.

Half-centuries from Alex Carey, Beau Webster and Travis Head were the fulcrum of a recovery from 65-4 late on day two to a final second innings total of 310 at tea the next day.

Shamar Joseph led the West Indies bowling effort with five wickets at the cost of 87 runs for a match haul of 9-133.

Any winning target in excess of 200 was always going to be challenging on this two-paced surface.

As it transpired, the West Indies never looked up to the task from the moment former captain Kraigg Brathwaite fell to Mitchell Starc in the first over.

Hazlewood then took centre stage. His metronomic accuracy accounted for John Campbell and debutant Brandon King off successive balls, before adding the wickets of captain Roston Chase and Keacy Carty.

Chase’s Australian counterpart, Pat Cummins, removed first innings top-scorer Shai Hope and insult was added to considerable injury when substitute fielder Marnus Labuschagne ran out Alzarri Joseph with a direct hit to the striker’s end from mid-off.

Josh Hazlewood returned to the attack to prise out Jomel Warrican, but Shamar Joseph entertained with 44 off 22 balls before falling to off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

The veteran spinner then dismissed Jayden Seales on the next ball to wrap the West Indies innings, steering Australia to victory with two days to spare. Justin Greaves was left unbeaten on 38.

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Australia’s intent was clear at the start of the day as Head and Webster transformed the consolidation of the previous evening to controlled aggression in a partnership of 102 for the fifth wicket.

Head was trapped lbw for 61 by Shamar Joseph 20 minutes before lunch.

However, the course of the first session could have been very different had Greaves held on to another straightforward catch at second slip off Alzarri Joseph when the left-hander was on 22.

It was the seventh chance put down by the West Indies slip cordon in the match, a poor display in one of the fundamental aspects of the game, which began on day one when four catches were shelled.

With a clear intent on aggression on a pitch becoming increasingly two-paced, the Australians progressed at almost a run a minute after lunch, despite wickets falling at regular intervals.

Carey, who top-scored with 65, built on the platform laid by Head and Webster (63), who fell off the persevering Shamar Joseph.

The right-armer also accounted for Starc and wrapped up the innings when last man Hazlewood was bowled off the inside edge to give the West Indies pacer his fourth five-wicket haul and third against Australia.

By then, though, the task already looked beyond the West Indies, which was confirmed two balls before stumps.

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Cameron Green is the “long-term option” to bat at number three for Australia, Pat Cummins said, after the captain named his team for the opening Test against the West Indies in Barbados.

The recalled 19-year-old Sam Konstas will open alongside Usman Khawaja, after it was previously announced that Marnus Labuschagne had been dropped.

“Sammy is obviously an opener, and the available spot for Josh this week is at number four,” added Cummins.

Australia have retained the same bowling attack that played in the defeat to South Africa, with just one specialist spinner in Nathan Lyon.

“We don’t really know what to expect, but it feels like the three quicks are better suited for this wicket,” fast bowler Cummins said.

“I think it’ll be a pretty good wicket with maybe a little bit of spin later on in the game, (but) honestly, I’ve got no idea.”

It’s worth noting that Cameron Green scored only four runs and faced just five balls in the World Test Championship (WTC) final defeat against South Africa this month after being elevated to come in at the fall of the first wicket.

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But Cummins told reporters in Barbados that Green would retain his place in the batting order, with Josh Inglis at number four while Steve Smith recovers from a finger injury.

“We always like to not have too many moving parts,” Cummins said. “We see (Green at three) as a long-term option. He’s hitting the ball really well.”

“He had a Test match where it didn’t go to plan. The message is not to look into that too much.

“We’re really happy with where his game is placed, and I dare say he’ll get a decent run at number three.”

On the other hand, a new-look West Indies will also line up with three quick bowlers in Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales.

Roston Chase, who has replaced Kraigg Brathwaite as captain and will be playing his first Test in more than two years, has two spinners at his disposal.

Chase said he hoped the visitors were “still hurting” from Shamar Joseph’s seven-wicket haul in their shock win at Brisbane’s Gabba in January 2024.

The West Indies team contains just four players from the eight-run win at the Gabba and just three survivors from their last Test, against Pakistan in January.

PLAYING XIs

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Brandon King, Roston Chase (capt), Shai Hope, Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

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PORT OF SPAIN: Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell scored swashbuckling half-centuries and lifted West Indies to down Australia in a high-scoring ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match here on Thursday.

Put into bat first, West Indies racked up a mammoth total of 257/4 with Pooran and Powell leading the attack.

The hosts got off to a briefly flying start to their innings as they lost Shai Hope in the third over with 38 runs on the board. Hope scored 14 off eight deliveries.

Wicketkeeper batter Pooran then joined Johnson Charles in the middle and launched a belligerent attack on the Australian bowlers.

Pooran smashed five fours and eight sixes on his way to an astonishing 75-run knock from 25 deliveries before being dismissed by Adam Zampa in the 10th over.

Charles was then involved in another partnership for the West Indies when he added 48 runs for the third wicket with skipper Rovman Powell before finally perishing in the 14th over.

The opening batter scored an anchoring 40 off 31 deliveries with the help of six fours.

Powell was quick to follow as he perished in the 16th over soon after bringing up his quickfire half-century.

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He scored 52 off 25 balls with the help of eight boundaries including four sixes.

Sherfane Rutherford then took the reigns of West Indies’ batting charge with a blistering cameo and scored an unbeaten 47 off 18 balls, bolstering the home team’s total past the 250-run mark in the allotted overs.

Adam Zampa bagged two wickets for Australia but was expensive while Ashton Agar and Tim David made one scalp each.

In response, Australia finished at 222/7 despite a brisk half-century from Josh Inglis.

The right-handed batter top-scored for Australia with a 30-ball 55 with the help of five fours and four sixes while batting at No.4.

Besides him, Nathan Ellis (38), Ashton Agar (28), Tim David and Matthew Wade (25) made notable contributions for the former champions but their efforts were not enough to steer them over the line.

Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph led the bowling attack for the West Indies with two wickets each while Obed McCoy, Shamar Joseph and Akeal Hosein chipped in with a wicket apiece.

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WELLINGTON: Australian openers Alyssa Healy scored a magnificent century and put on the highest partnership of the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 with Rachael Haynes to power their side to thump West Indies by 157 runs and stormed into the final.

The dominant Australian side have extended their unbeaten run in the ongoing edition of the women’s world cup as the former champions have outclassed the West Indies by a massive margin of 157 runs in a rain-affected semi-final.

Batting first Australia managed to amass a decent total of 305/3 in the allotted 45 overs, thanks to the wonderful knocks from Healy and Haynes. The opening pair added 216-runs for the first wicket — highest for any wicket in this world cup — to lay a solid foundation.

Healy, who was scoring at a quicker rate fell short in the 33rd over after scoring a wonderful century. The wicket-keeper batter scored 129 off just 107 balls, laced with 17 boundaries and a six.

Haynes, on the other hand, remained unlucky as she missed out on her century by 15 runs as Chinelle Henry dismissed her on 85 in 36th over. The left-handed batter faced 100 balls in the course of her brilliant innings and hit nine boundaries.

The middle-order batter Beth Mooney then chipped in with a quick 43 off 31 deliveries, down the order and took her side to 305/3 in 45 overs.

For West Indies, Henry led the bowling chart with two wickets, while Shamilia Connell bagged one.

Set to chase 304, the West Indian batting line-up failed and could only manage to score 148 before being bowled out in 37 overs.

The skipper Stafanie Taylor fought hard with her gritty 48 off 75 balls, while Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin scored 34 each.

The rest of the batters could not contribute significantly in the run chase and as a result, the side could only score 148; handing an easy 157-runs victory to Australia.

For Australia, Jess Jonassen took two wickets, while Ashleigh Gardner, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, and Megan Schutt made one scalp each.

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