(CMC) – West Indies were jettisoned in record time when Australia, inspired by a Player-of-the-Match performance from rookie pacer Xavier Bartlett, galloped to an eight-wicket win in the third One-Day International and wrapped up a clean sweep of the series.
Left-hander Alick Athanaze, opening the batting, hit the top score of 32, but Bartlett, playing in only his second ODI, snatched four for 21 from 7.1 overs, and the Caribbean side collapsed to 86 all out in 24.1 overs after they were put in to bat at Manuka Oval in the Australian capital.
West Indies pride took a further dent when the Aussies needed only 6.5 overs to complete their shortest men’s ODI win on home soil, with Jake Fraser-McGurk slamming 41 off only 18 balls and sharing 67 for the first wicket with fellow opener Josh Inglis, not out on 35, to set them on course.
The defeat of the visitors in 186 balls of the 600 available was the sixth fewest for any completed men’s ODI and the fewest for an ODI (excluding overs-reduced matches) staged in Australia.
The previous shortest completed ODI in Australia lasted 199 balls and was also played between Australia and the West Indies 11 years ago in Perth.
“Our batting let us down,” West Indies captain Shai Hope said. “It did for the entire series… We need to do some real soul-searching to understand what’s needed in certain conditions. I can’t really put my finger on any one thing; it comes down to mindset.”
The Caribbean side limped to 36 for one at the close of the first Power Play, but their batting collapsed spectacularly under the weight of disciplined, if not menacing, bowling from the Australians on a helpful pitch.
After opener Kjorn Ottley was LBW to Bartlett for eight in the third over, although TV replays showed he got an inside edge and he failed to review, Keacy Carty joined Athanaze and batted resolutely through the remainder of the first power play with little or no incident, but they were only in survival mode.
Carty, the most prolific West Indies batsman in the series with scores of 88 and 40, was spectacularly caught at backward point off pacer Lance Morris in the 11th over, and the visitors lost wickets in each of the next two overs and slumped to 44 for four.
Hope was lbw to Sean Abbott for four in the 12th over, and former West Indies Under-19 captain Teddy Bishop, on his ODI debut, was beaten for pace and bowled by Morris for a six-ball duck in the 13th over.
Athanaze stuck around long enough to carry the West Indies past 50, and they were 71 for four when he was caught inside the fine leg boundary, top-edging an ill-advised sweep at a delivery from leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
Two wickets in three balls left the Caribbean side in tatters when Romario Shepherd was caught behind off Bartlett for one and Matthew Forde was run out for a duck after a comical mix-up with Chase in the 21st over, and there was token resistance from the rest of the batting.
None of the West Indies bowlers did their reputations any favours, and the Aussies streaked to their 12th consecutive ODI win after they won the first ODI by eight wickets in Melbourne and the second ODI by 83 runs in Sydney.
Alzarri Joseph got McGurk caught at mid-on in the fifth over, and fellow fast bowler Oshane Thomas got Aaron Hardie caught behind for two in the seventh over, but neither could save the Caribbean side from a chastening defeat with 259 balls remaining.
It was the widest margin of defeat in terms of balls for the West Indies in men’s ODIs, and they are still without an ODI win against the world champions in Australia for 22 consecutive matches, their last win coming 27 years ago.
