Stamping their authority: Australia rout West Indies inside three days

The nine-wicket win’s foundations were laid by debutant Adam Voges’ hundred

ROSEAU: Australia completed a comprehensive nine-wicket win inside three days of the first Test against the West Indies at the Windsor Park Stadium in Dominica on Friday after the home side’s second-innings resistance crumbled.

A 144-run fourth-wicket partnership between Shane Dowrich and Marlon Samuels frustrated the visitors, who had taken a 170-run lead in the first-innings. However Dowrich’s dismissal, for a well-played 70, triggered a collapse which saw the last seven wickets tumble for 35 runs and the West Indies sliding from 181-3 to 216 all out.

Mitchell Starc led the rout with four wickets, the last two off successive deliveries with the second new ball.

In his first Test, Dowrich’s defiant knock in over four hours at the crease was an admirable effort given the state of the match, the condition of a wearing pitch and the perseverance of the Australians in seeking to turn the screws on a West Indies side that looked completely deflated at the end of the second day.

However, his knock was overshadowed by that of another debutant, when Adam Voges’ unbeaten hundred — an effort that earned him the man of the match award in his first Test — left West Indies with a mountain to climb in the second-innings.

“It’s been a perfect three days,” said the 35-year-old Voges. “Credit to all our guys who worked really hard on what wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on or get wickets.”

Samuels, the most experienced West Indian player following the omission of Shivnarine Chanderpaul ahead of this two-match series, punctuated long periods of defiance with fluent strokeplay, occasionally taking on frontline Australian spinner Nathan Lyon to top score in the second-innings with 74.

But he was among the clatter of wickets following Dowrich’s demise, top-edging an attempted hook off Mitchell Johnson to fine leg in a carbon copy of his first innings dismissal.

Needing just 47 runs for victory, Australia wasted no time in knocking off the runs in gathering gloom in just five overs for the loss of the rampant David Warner, who scored 28 off 20 deliveries before falling to Jerome Taylor.

“West Indies made us fight really hard today but credit to our bowlers for persevering on a wicket that was really slow,” said skipper Michael Clarke. “Our fielding was really good as well, together with our intent with the bat. That’s when we play our best cricket.”

Despite the resounding defeat, the Windies skipper was not entirely displeased but did feel that they gave it away in the first-innings. “Dowrich showed the character everyone should have shown,” said Dinesh Ramdin. “The first-innings was critical. We didn’t get enough runs and couldn’t close out the Australian innings when we should have.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2015.

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