Thursday, April 12, 2012

Aussie win thriller

Australia held their nerve to beat West Indies by three wickets on a thrilling final day of the first Test in Bridgetown.
The tourists bowled West Indies out for 148 on the stroke of lunch, with seam bowler Ben Hilfenhaus leading the way with 4-27.
Australia were left with a victory target of 192 in two sessions and were in trouble at 140-5, with plenty of punters placing cricket bets backing the hosts to grasp the victory.
However, Michael Hussey backed up Shane Watson's good early work (52 from 57 balls) with a 26-ball 32 in fading light to take his side home.
Man-of-the-match Ryan Harris, who took five wickets in the match and scored a precious 68 not out in Australia’s first innings, said it was "one of the hardest Test matches I've played in my short career".
"To win a game like that after they batted for two days, it's pretty amazing," he added.
West Indies took a firm grip on the Test with a first-innings total of 449 before strengthening their hold on the contest with a strong bowling performance.
Harris led a recovery with Australia 285-8 and allowed his captain Michael Clarke to declare 43 runs short of the hosts’ total.
Despite the cricket odds being firmly in their favour, the Windies crumbled in their second innings, collapsing to 75-6 before being bowled out for 148 on the fifth day.
After a spirited bowling performance second time around, Hilfenhaus scrambled the winning run to
give Australia a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy was pleased despite the crushing defeat.
 "We dominated a top side with some good players and the way I heard them celebrating on the balcony means a lot to me," he said.
"We'll take that to heart and look to come back strong in Trinidad."
Australia will look to clinch the series when the second Test begins on April 15.

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