Story West Indies Tour of Australia (C2005)

[Cricket_60]

SMITH FOLLOWS

The Windies are now in real trouble after Smith has been runout for 2. The Windies tried to take a quick single from a ball flicked of Smith's pads but were indesicive and lost valuable ground against Mike Hussey's bullet like throw. The 3rd umpire was called and gave Smith out as he was clearly short of his ground.

S.Chanderpaul 16*
D.Ramdin 0*
WIN: 116/5

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I hate this about the Widnies. One wicket falls and the rest just lose it. Play sensibly damn it! Devon Smith should really be playing instead of Dwayne...he is more suited...

 

[Cricket_60]

AUSSIES RUN RIOT

The Aussies have claimed yet another wicket to leave the visitors stunned at 120/6. This is the first major collapse of the tour for the Windies and it is stinging them badly. Shiv Chanderpaul has become the 4th victim of the collapse, He was struck infront by a Lee thunderbolt of 153 km and couldn't even get his bat near the ball. The umpire had no problem in giving another wicket to the Aussies.

D.Ramdin 2*
O.Banks 0*
WIN: 120/6

G.McGrath 2/33 (23)
B.Lee 2/48 (23)
S.Warne 1/38 (22)

 

[Cricket_60]

LUNCH DAY 4

D.Ramdin 2*
D.Butler 0*
WIN: 120/7

B.Lee 3/48 (23)
G.McGrath 2/33 (25)
S.Warne 1/38 (24)

Collapse: 5/20

Summary:

The West Indians have barely survived to get to the lunch break. Omari Banks was the last casualty before the interval, Banks seemed to have given up on trying to play out the innings and threw the kitchen sink at a wider delivery from Lee which flew in the air to Martyn at Backward Point.

 

[Cricket_60]

AUSSIES TRAMPLE WINDIES

The Aussies have sucessfully destroyed the Windies hopes of winning the match by getting them all out for 158. Glenn McGrath finished with 3 while Lee took 4 and Warne got 2. The Aussies resumed what they started after lunch. Butler nicked a leg cutter from McGrath to 1st slip while Ramdin chased a wideish ball from Lee and lost his wicket. Best was out driving to Warne who again claimed the no' 11 caught Gilchrist bowled Warne. The Windies have now all but lost this game and now a whitewash like so many have predicted could occur in the next match.

 

[Cricket_60]

Scorecard and Stats

 

[Cricket_60]

AUSSIES CHASE DOWN COMFORTABLY

The Australians have won their 5th consecutive match against the West Indies. Justin Langer and Michael Hussey easily chased down the total of 42. The Windies now need to salvage some pride and avoid the whitewash in the next game at the WACA starting soon...

 

[Gilchrist]

This is a great story, mate.

 

[Cricket_60]

Thanks mate

 

[Cricket_60]

Player rating (Aus)

1) J.Langer (50%): Again got a start but got out before his 50. Has had a little slump after making a double hundred but is still on track for Man of the Series.

2) M.Hussey (90%): Made a wonderfull century and was dynamic in the field. Finished not out in the second innings and is in fine touch (MOM)

3): R.Ponting (25%): Was bowled by a corker of a delivery and did not get another chance. Took no catches but would be happy with the performance of his team.

4) D.Martyn (60%): Although again got a start and failed has definitely done enough to retain a position for the ODI's and the last test.

5) B.Hodge (40%): Looked unusually agressive but played well for his runs. Was bowled by a brilliant ball but might not have done enough to retain his place.

6) A.Symonds (45%): Didn't really get a fair go as he was told by his skipper to slog from the word go. He did hit a massive 6 and showed the selectors a sample of what he is capable of doing. Also took a blinder in the deep.

7) S.Watson (45%): Was put in the game as a batting all-rounder and did bat well for a time. He didn't bowl one single ball so it will be interesting too see if he is re-selected.

8) A.Gilchrist (60%): Had an awesome game with the gloves. Took many edges and coped well with a fast paced track and high bounce. Was batting simple to score runs and didn;t last long because of this.

9) S.Warne (50%) Didn't have the best of games with the bat or ball. Was knocked over for a duck and claimed 3 wickets for the entire match. Can be happy that he claimed Lara at such a crucial stage.

10) B.Lee (80%) Had another great game. Got hit around a bit in both innings but took vital wickets for his team. Lee is showing the world just what kind of formidable force he is at the moment.

11) G.McGrath (85%) Bowled with his usual accuracy and claimed wickets for it. McGrath did well particularly in the 2nd inning by getting rid of the 2 opener cheaply

MOM: Mike Hussey

Position in doubt: B.Hodge and Shane Watson

 

[Cricket_60]

FINAL TEST MATCH

At last the final is here. The Windies need to win to save some pride and the Aussies want to win to show the world that they are still as good as the team of 5 years ago. This is a game that will prove to be the biggest out of the whole series. A record sellout crowd is expected and the Aussies will draw much of their strength from this support.

Teams

Australia
J.Langer
M.Hayden
R.Ponting
D.Martyn
M.Hussey
A.Symonds
A.Gilchrist
J.Hopes
S.Warne
B.Lee
G.McGrath

12th man: S.Watson

Hayden return for Watson
Hodge dropped for Hopes (debut)

West Indies
C.Gayle
W.Hinds
B.Lara
S.Chanderpaul
R.Sarwan
D.Smith
D.Ramdin
O.Banks
D.Butler
J.Lawson
T.Best

12th man: D.Bravo

No changes

The Pitch

This is a typical hard and flat WACA surface. The curators have kept the ground's reputation as a hard and bouncy wicket that will favour batsmen. The team batting first will be in a great position as the grounds staff think that the pitch will only start to deteriorate on the final 2 days.

The Toss

The Windies have finally had some luck, They have won the toss and elected to bat.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Bravo 12th man!!! Dump Butler I say!

 

[Cricket_60]

WINDIES STUN AUSSIES WITH LATE CHANGES

The West Indians have thrown the Aussies gameplans by declaring two changes just 20 minutes before the start of play. Bravo and young gun Marshall have replaced Sarwan and Smith (injury during warm up). It seems that they intended for Sarwan to be replaced all along to keep the element of surprise against the Aussies.

West Indies

W.Hinds
C.Gayle
B.Lara
S.Chanderpaul
X.Marshall
D.Bravo
D.Ramdin
O.Banks
D.Butler
J.Lawson
T.Best

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Yay! Bravo is in

 

[Cricket_60]

HINDS OUT EARLY

Wavell Hinds has become McGrath?s first victim of the day. Hinds nudged at a ball outside off and payed the price with a nick to Ponting at second slip. The Aussies now have a big advantage as this pitch definitely requires a first innings score of 250+

C.Gayle 1*
B.Lara 0*
WIN: 2/1

G.McGrath 1/2 (1)
B.Lee 0/0 (1)