Windies lose first Digicel ODI

Mar 17, 2012 Sports

Aussies win by 64 runs

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and captain Darren Sammy

played fighting knocks, but failed to spark the West Indies batting, and Australia won the first Digicel One-day International by 64 runs on Friday (yesterday).
Samuels and Sammy led the way with 35, and the elder Bravo made 32, left-arm spinner Doherty grabbed four wickets for 49 runs from eight overs, as West Indies were dismissed for 140 in 32.2 overs, replying to Australia’s 204 for eight in the match at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground.
The result meant that Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with the second Digicel ODI to come on Sunday (tomorrow) at the same venue.
The elder Bravo had been the most successful bowler, collecting three wickets for 58 runs from his allotment of 10 overs, Samuels supported with two for 29 from eight overs, and Roach grabbed two for 33 from his 10 overs, as West Indies did well to restrict Australia.
Tidy bowling for West Indies made scoring difficult for the Aussies on a docile pitch, as George Bailey hit the top score of 48 that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, opener David Warner made 40, fellow left-hander Mike Hussey got 32, Peter Forrest added 26 and Austr

Dwayne Bravo

alia captain Shane Watson 21.
Chasing, West Indies stumbled to 33 for three in the 11th over, after ODI newcomer Johnson Charles was caught at third man off McKay in the fourth over, Kieran Powell was caught at mid-on off Brett Lee in the seventh over, and fellow left-hander Darren Bravo was then run out for four.
The elder Bravo joined Samuels, batting with enterprise to West Indies on terra firma with a stand of 64 for the fourth wicket. The two brought the asking rate down to manageable proportions before Bravo was bowled by Daniel Christian, sparking a batting collapse that saw West Indies lose six wickets for seven runs in the space of 29 balls.
Doherty got some stick before he scalped Samuels caught at slip in the 25th over, trapped Carlton Baugh Jr. lbw for a duck three balls later, had Andre Russell stumped for one in the 27th over, and Sunil Narine caught at deep mid-on for a duck in the 29th over.
In between, Kieron Pollard, whose big-hitting ability has become legend around the World, was caught at mid-wicket off Daniel Christian for four. Towards the end, Sammy struck three fours and three sixes from 20 balls to bring some respectability to his side’s total before McKay pouched him.
Earlier, the elder Bravo, playing for West Indies for the first time in nine months, made the breakthrough, when he had Watson lbw in the seventh over. The Windies faced resistance from Warner and Forest, when they diligently added 60 for the second wicket, but two wickets in the space of five balls – both to Samuels – in the 24th over left Australia wobbling on 91 for two.
Samuels, bowling his off-spin darts, had Forrest stumped for 26 and Warner brilliantly caught low down at extra cover by Pollard for 40. Roach had David Hussey caught behind for a duck playing a lazy drive two overs later, sinking Australia to 99 for four.
West Indies were again put on their heels, when Bailey came to the crease and put on 63 for the fifth wicket with the elder Hussey. The home team however, removed them both, as they collected a cluster of wickets, when Australia chased quick runs inside the last 10 overs.
The two teams observed a minute’s silence prior to the start of play in honour of Runako Morton. The former Leeward Islands captain and West Indies batsman died in a car crash two weeks ago.