A much smoother game this time, with no rain delays and sightscreen issues!
Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bowl for a change on a wicket he may have misjudged for early wickets to aid his bowlers but spot on for batting second.
Chris Gayle (53) and Xavier Marshall (35) got off to a brilliant start, setting a great platform for the West Indies middle order to utilise.
Chris Gayle looked destructive and Xavier Marshall backed him very well.
A highlight on the innings was Xavier Marshall, not quite realising he had a free hit and instead of trying to send Brett Lee into the tenth row, opted to play an elegant forward defensive. All you can do is laugh and no doubt Brett Lee had a few pleasantries to exchange with Xavier. However, he nailed a free hit for four a few overs later to his relief!
Gayle was sent back after Mitchell Johnson deflected a straight drive of Marshall back onto the non-strikers wicket, a bit of hard luck for Gayle and Marshall followed with a thick edge which was taken one handed outstandingly by keeper Luke Ronchi.
Ramnaresh Sarwan (31) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (32) offered their contributions to further the Windies hopes of a score to near the 300 mark.
But after they were dismissed the rest of the line-up failed, just deepening the wounds of Gayle’s side with their inconsistency in their batting.
Brett Lee (1/36) picked up his 300th ODI wicket and Nathan Bracken (3/26) and Andrew Symonds (2/42) were the key wicket takers.
The Windies managed 223 all out off 48 overs.
It looked as though we had a game on our hands when Fidel Edwards (1/35) bowled the in-form Shaun Marsh in his first over for a duck.
Australia once again consolidated their innings as they did in the previous ODI. Shane Watson (126), took control of the situation and alongside with captain Ricky Ponting (69), who has found some form at long last, dampened the West Indies hopes of keeping the series out of the Australian’s grasp. Watson hit 15 fours and 2 sixes to fight his way to his maiden ODI century.
It has been a frustrating and testing career for Shane Watson, so it is great to see him making the most of his return into the International circuit.
A monstrous 190 run partnership which tagged along with a good strike rate set up victory. Ponting was dismissed trying to slog sweep Chris Gayle (1/26) for a maximum but was taken by Marshall.
Shane Watson tried his trademark paddle-sweep (remember the game against New Zealand in last years World Cup?) but was comfortably taken by Sarwan off the bowling of Darren Sammy (1/20).
With little left to do Michael Clarke (11 not out) and Andrew Symonds (8 not out) got Australia to 227 to win the match and the series.
The newer looking Aussie unit are looking a lot stronger each match.
West Indies have shown great promise but are just not capitalising upon the momentum.
Logical observations are strong partnerships not being backed by key players; early wickets against the Australian’s are not being followed upon with enough pressure by the bowlers and fielding standards are very shaky.
Consistency is how Australia has always stayed one step ahead through their line-up.
India did the opposite of the West Indies in last years Commonwealth Bank Series against Aussie and it worked for them overpowering in Australia’s slightly out of touch squad by using opportunities.
With a strong Australian unit developing, looking to stay on top of their ODI game, the West Indies side still have pride to play for and time to tweak areas of their game. The next two games should still be exciting to watch.
The next ODI will be played at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts, on Friday July 4th. This gives the players and all the viewers a bit of a break to build some anticipation for the next two matches.
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