GROS ISLET, SAINT LUCIA: Australia captain George Bailey praised his bowlers’ performance as the West Indies were restricted to a modest 150 before the tourists cantered to a eight-wicket win in the first Twenty20.
Kieron Pollard hit a 20-ball half-century – the fastest by a West Indies batsman – but disciplined bowling ensured that only 16 runs were scored in the final three overs. Shane Watson and Michael Hussey then hit half-centuries as Australia completed the job with 11 balls to spare to take the lead in the two-match series. “It was pretty polished,” said Bailey. “[The bowling was pleasing] particularly given how we finished a couple of games in the one-dayers. For the guys to respond to that, learnt what they have, come up with plans and then execute them, I think we’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.
“Having so many bowlers in the team that was the beauty of the options I had.”
West Indies captain Darren Sammy admitted his side fell short but vowed to bounce back in the series.
“We were looking for about 170 but the Australians bowled well,” said Sammy. “They outplayed us today. We have one more game and hope to change things there. We might try to add some firepower to the bowling for the next game.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2012.
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