MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – Touring West Indies offered a meek batting response and plunged to a lopsided 113-run loss to high-flying Australia in their first One Day International (ODI) yesterday.

Replying to Australia’s total of 256 for eight off 50 overs, West Indies gathered a mere 143 all out in 34.2 overs at the MCG as the home side marched into a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Game two is slated for Adelaide tomorrow, (tonight Caribbean time).

“This is not the start we wanted,” Gayle said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“It’s back to the drawing board and hopefully we can level it in Adelaide,” he added.

West Indies made a terrible start to the 257-run chase, quickly stumbling to 12 for three in the fifth over as opening bowlers Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris delivered the start the home side needed.

Captain Chris Gayle fell for only seven – caught at mid-off as he top-edged an attempted pull shot off Bollinger – in the third over.

Harris then had Gayle’s opening partner Runako Morton (3) caught behind at 12 for two and without addition to the score Travis Dowlin (1) fell to Bollinger.

Kieron Pollard (31), Lendl Simmons (29), and Narsingh Deonarine (19) gave mild resistance in the middle order and wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin scored a brisk 17 as the only players getting to double-figures for the Windies.

Harris (3-24) and Hauritz (3-28) shared six wickets for the rampant Aussies and Bollinger claimed two for 18.

Earlier, the Australians, coming off nine unanswered victories – in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 cricket — against Pakistan, were unable to flourish against a spirited West Indies bowling effort.

West Indies grabbed crucial middle order wickets to stymie the customary Australia acceleration, restricting the hosts to a relatively moderate total.

Sent in after losing the toss, Australia gathered their 256 for eight total with in-form opener Shane Watson their only batsman going beyond fifty with 59.

Cruising at 135 for one in the 27th over, Australia seemed to have built the ideal platform to launch a savage attack but that flurry of runs never came as the West Indies bowlers made key strikes at vital moments to unsettle the innings.

Pollard (3-45) produced an incisive burst with his seemingly innocuous medium pace, grabbing three wickets in a terrific spell as Australia lost five wickets in a barren period where they scraped together just 75 runs from 102 balls.

Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, whose first spell was expensive, returned to finish with two for 43 from his 10 overs while his new ball partner Kemar Roach claimed one for 43, sustaining a steady spell which started with a miserly opening shift.

Watson added 85 from 98 balls for the second wicket with captain Ricky Ponting who stroked 49 from 61 balls but it all went wrong for Australia thereafter as they failed to gather momentum.
The right-handed Watson extended his wonderful summer, cracking three fours off 74 balls while Ponting looked ominous in gathering 49 from 61 balls with a four and a six.

With runs a hard find, Watson holed out in the deep to Morton off Gayle’s off-spin in the 27th over before Ponting inside-edged the first ball of Pollard’s second over onto his stumps at 144 for three, 14 balls later.

Michael Clarke (18) and Cameron White (22) posted a slow 35 from 51 balls for the fourth wicket and both gave catches to wicketkeeper Ramdin within 10 runs and 16 balls of each other to leave the Aussies on 189 for five in the 41st over.

Pollard snared his third wicket when he took a sharp, one-handed return catch to remove Brad Haddin for eight and Mike Hussey (28) could not provide the late innings flourish as he gave Ramdin his third catch of the innings off Rampaul, trying to steer a delivery to third man at 241 for seven.

The dangerous Mitchell Johnson was yorked in the final over of the innings by Rampaul following a brisk 20 from 21 balls.

“I thought it was a reasonable effort,” said Ponting, who was pleased with the result but not satisfied with his side’s overall play.

“I thought we could have got a few more runs and bowled and fielded a bit better,” Ponting said.