(CMC) – West Indies slumped to another demoralising defeat after a Player-of-the-Match performance from Sean Abbott gave hosts and world champions Australia an 83-run win in the second One-Day International yesterday and an unbeatable 2-0 lead in their three-match series.
Chasing 259 to win in the day-night contest at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Caribbean side were bowled out for 175 in 43.3 overs after Abbott followed up a top score of 69 in the Australian innings with a spell of three for 40 from his allotted 10 overs.
Keacy Carty continued in his rich vein of form with a top score of 40 for the West Indies; his captain Shai Hope made 29, and Roston Chase added 25, but the visitors failed to make a serious assault on the target, and pacer Josh Hazlewood took three for 43 from eight overs to hasten the finish.
West Indies stumbled to 40 for three at the close of the first Power Play with Alick Athanaze, Justin Greaves, and Justin Greaves falling cheaply, but Hope and Carty laboured over 14 overs to stitch together a fourth wicket stand of 53 that stabilised the innings.
The Caribbean side limped to 96 for four at the halfway stage after Hope was bowled by Hazlewood in the 23rd over, and they were rocking further on 108 for five when Carty was caught behind off Abbott in the 29th over.
Chase put up a brave front in the closing stages, but there was neither substance nor support from the rest of the West Indies batting, and the Australians continued to bowl with adroit precision and field with aplomb to close out the match.
The visitors lost the first ODI by eight wickets this past Friday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and they will be hoping to avoid a clean sweep when the final ODI is contested tomorrow at Manuka Oval in the Australian capital of Canberra.
“I thought we stuck to our guns really well in the bowling department,” Hope said during the post-play TV interview.
“I must commend our bowlers. 258 wasn’t too much, but it was a challenging wicket, and the Aussies bowled very well, and we needed to find ways to score more freely. We have to win one; that’s the plan.” Earlier, the West Indies bowled with discipline and had Australia on the ropes at 167 for seven in the 35th over before Abbott, batting at eight, struck one four and four sixes in his 63-ball innings to rescue the home team.
West Indies won the toss and decided to field, and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph gave them a bright start when he struck with the fifth ball of the match and got opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, making his ODI debut in place of 2023 World Cup batting hero Travis Head, caught behind for 10.
Joseph struck again in the third over when wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis was caught at backward point for nine before fellow pacer Matthew Forde got Australia captain Steve Smith bowled off the inside edge for five in the eighth over.
The Caribbean side had the Australians wobbling on 61 for three at the close of the first Power Play, and they were 89 for four when chunky pacer Oshane Thomas got Cameron Green caught at mid-on in the 16th over.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, taking three for 28 from his 10 overs, starting with the scalp of Marnus Labuschagne caught at cover for 26 before Australia had passed 100.
With Hope deciding to use Motie and the off-spin of Chase at this stage, runs were at a premium for the Aussies, and they limped to 130 for five at the halfway stage before two wickets for 25 in the span of 41 balls slowed them down further.
Motie got Aaron Hardie caught at long-on for 26 from a top-edged pull in the 29th over and followed up with the scalp of Matthew Short caught and bowled for 41 in the 35th over.
West Indies failed to maintain the pressure in the closing overs, and Australia, led by some enterprising batting from Abbott and his 57-run stand for the eighth wicket with another ODI first-timer, Will Sutherland, pushed past 250 on a pitch that made boundaries difficult to find.
