Windies Blown Over

Australia served a timely warning to Champions Trophy contenders by clinchingthe tri-series with a crushing 127-run victory over the West Indies in the finaltoday.

The Aussies, who fielded their best eleven, put up a commanding all-roundperformance on the big day by posting a challenging 240 for six and thenskittling out the Caribbeans for a paltry 113 in the day-night clash at theKinrara Oval.

After Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds set the stage for the world championswith timely half-centuries, Brett Lee turned in a powerful fast bowlingperformance of 4-24 to blow away the Windies line up.

It made Lee the most successful bowler of the series with 11 wickets.

Nathan Bracken was equally impressive with figures of three for 15 whileall-rounder Shane Watson chipped in with 2-30.

The Windies, holders of the Champions Trophy, suffered their fourthsuccessive batting failure, triggered by the leg before dismissal of Chris Gayleto a toe-crusher from Lee off the first ball of the innings.

Only three batsmen - Ramnaresh Sarwan (36), Dwayne Smith (30) and ShivnarineChanderpaul (12) - made double digit scores while four were out for nought.

It was the third lowest total and the margin of win was the second highest interms of runs in matches between the two teams.

India, the third team in the fray, failed to make it to the final afterregistering one win in their four league matches.

The teams now move to India for the Champions Trophy from October 7 toNovember 5. Australia have never won the biennial event since its inception in1998.

The Aussies, electing to bat, rode on the back of identical scores of 52 byMartyn and Symonds to set the West Indies a challenging target.

Martyn and Symonds helped the team overcome a tentative start after the lossof Simon Katich (25), Shane Watson (18) and skipper Ricky Ponting (6) with only80 on the board.

The duo added 73 runs for the fourth wicket in what turned out to be amatch-winning partnership.

Michael Clarke (23), vice-captain Michael Hussey (30 no) and Brad Haddin (17no) then boosted the innings with some energetic batting towards the close.

Martyn was his stylish self, driving through the off side confidently despitean "indentation" in the good length area that claimed Ponting legbefore wicket.

Symonds, on the other hand, displayed his power hitting with two meaty sixesoff Bravo and Gayle on way to his 19th ODI fifty.

Clarke's run-a-ball 23 was crucial in turning on the momentum for Australiafrom a sluggish 3.33 an over run rate till the 30th over to close to five in theend.

Hussey and Haddin provided the late thrust with a six each and saw 40 runscome from the last four overs.

West Indies skipper Brian Lara might have been a bit unlucky to be givencaught behind as television replays showed the 'snick' actually was bat hittingthe pad, but there was no questioning the fact that the rest of the batsmenwilted under the relentless pressure applied by the Aussies.

And that pressure came from not only Lee's blistering pace but comeback manGlenn McGrath's exceptional line and length.

The 'Pigeon' returned immaculate figures of 6-2-6-0 after his new ball spell.

The Windies were also guilty of getting out because of ill-judged shotselection. If Gayle was out to the first ball he faced, Runako Morton went backfor no score after playing 32 deliveries, leg before to Bracken.

Chanderpaul struck two boundaries before a leading edge off Lee found Katichat mid-wicket.

After Lara's fall, Dwayne Bravo and Sarwan added 23 before two wickets, thatof Bravo's and Hinds', were consumed in the space of one run.

Then came the best phase of the Caribbean innings when Sarwan and Smithstitched a 50-run partnership for the seventh wicket before the former was runout to a superb throw by Ponting.

Lee returned to slice through the tail, picking three wickets in eight balls.

He had Smith caught at mid-wicket by his captain and then Ian Bradshaw caughtbehind in the 32nd over.

The 29-year-old pacer then had Carlton Baugh edge to the wicketkeeper,Haddin's third catch of the match, in the second ball of his following over.

PTI