Australia brush aside West Indies to clinch ODI series

AUSTRALIA BRUSHED aside hosts West Indies by six wickets, with almost 20 overs to spare, on Monday evening at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados to clinch the three-match One Day International (ODI) series by a 2-1 margin.

The series was extended by two days as the second scheduled game at Barbados, on Thursday, was postponed by 48 hours due to a positive covid19 case, by a non-playing member of the West Indies team.

However, Australia prevailed when it mattered most, albeit on a difficult surface, in the final ODI.

The West Indies captain Kieron Pollard made a surprising decision to bat first after winning the toss, and his decision proved to be the wrong one as the WI batsmen, excluding opener Evin Lewis, struggled to come to terms with the conditions.

Lewis retired hurt, under the concussions protocols, when on five, in the fourth over, after he top-edged a pull shot from pacer Josh Hazlewood onto his helmet.

He later returned to top-score with an unbeaten 55 (66 deliveries, five fours and three sixes) as the WI were dismissed for 152 in 45.1 overs. Man of the Series, left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc captured three wickets for 43 runs while Hazlewood took 2/18, leg-spinner Adam Zampa 2/29 and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar 2/31.

In their reply, Australia were guided by Matthew Wade's unbeaten 51, with captain Alex Carey contributing 35 and Mitchell Marsh 29, as they reached 153/4 in 30.3 overs.

Australia will head to Bangladesh for a five-game T20 International series while the West Indies will host Pakistan in a four-game T20 series, starting on Wednesday in Barbados.

Scores:

WEST INDIES 152 (45.1 overs) – Evin Lewis 55 not out; Mitchell Starc 3-43, Josh Hazlewood 2-18, Adam Zampa 2-29, Ashton Agar 2-31 vs AUSTRALIA 153-4 (30.3 overs) – Matthew Wade 51 not out, Alex Carey 35, Mitchell Marsh 29. Australia won by six wickets. Man of the Match - Ashton Agar (Australia). Man of the Series - Mitchell Starc (Australia).