WI VS AUS T20I

Beaming with joy, Mitchell Marsh accepts the trophy from one of the dignitaries and then strides over to his jubilant teammates gathered behind the champion's board, ready to pose for the celebratory snapshots. Well then, Australia's month-long tour to the Caribbean shores has come to an end with an 8-0 scoreline. They claimed the Frank-Worrell Trophy, going undefeated 3-0, and now, have registered another clean sweep by 5-0 in the following T20I series, showing complete dominance over the hosts. The Aussies will now return home to host a spicy white-ball series against South Africa. That series will commence with 3 T20Is and also include 3 ODIs. The first T20I is scheduled to be played in Darwin on Sunday, August 10th, at 9.15 am GMT. West Indies will make the trip to the USA to host Pakistan for a 3-match T20I series, followed by 3 ODIs at home. It all begins in Lauderhill on Friday, August 1st, at 12 am GMT. Till then, you can follow all the ongoing cricketing action elsewhere. Hope you enjoyed our coverage from this series as we sign off from this matchcenter. Until next time, take care, and cheers!

The victorious captain of Australia, Mitchell Marsh, is up for a chat now. He admits that he didn't expect a 5-0 win at the start of the series, but also recalls that they played some really good cricket. Also highlights that they knew no Australian team had completed a clean sweep here and they had the guys to come in a play different roles for them. Shares that they talked about having flexibility and fluidity pre-tour as a group. Mentions the way the T20 format is going now, he is hopeful to continue with the power hitting. Tells that they have a huge amount of respect for West Indies and just wanted to focus on their execution and the challenges at hand.

The captain of West Indies, Shai Hope, admits that the West Indies weren’t able to put together a complete batting performance and, as a group, didn’t give themselves the best chance to post a big total. While he understands how difficult it can be to bowl spin on this ground, he lauds Akeal Hosein for his efforts. Hope points out that they simply didn’t have enough runs to defend but commends the players for the fight they showed. Reckons that chasing is always the better option here in the Caribbean, but the toss isn’t something he can control and he didn’t win any of them this series. Ends by saying that he is pleased with how the side executed with the ball compared to the first two games and is now looking forward to the upcoming series against Pakistan.

Australia's Cameron Green is adjudged as the PLAYER OF THE SERIES for his brilliance with the bat throughout the series. He is up for a chat and highlights that the wicket was certainly better. Says it was a great series from their point of view, as many guys, including Inglis and Tim David, played really well. On his batting position, he mentions that he will have to wait and watch, as there are several players in their squad who can bat at number four. Also, points that half of their side is filled with all-rounders, as they have got Maxwell and Connolly as well, if the wickets are turning. Calls it a massive series win, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, which isn't that far away. Ends by saying a bit of consistency will be good for them moving forward.

Australia's Ben Dwarshius is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that the surface was a bit slower than the first two games, so the plan was to hit the wicket hard and mix in the slower balls. Mentions that a lot of thought goes into his bowling and it is about understanding the batters' strengths and figuring out which areas they’re likely to target. Feels that it was definitely a challenge on some of these batting-friendly pitches, but he really enjoyed his time here. States that it is amazing to be part of this squad, and he will definitely look back at these memories fondly. Shares that he grew up watching guys like Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, and now getting to spend time with Starc is something really special and helpful for him as a bowler.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Earlier in the game, Australia’s toss streak continued as they chose to bowl first yet again, setting the tone early with sharp breakthroughs that had the hosts wobbling at three down inside six overs. Rutherford tried to inject some urgency, but Maxwell had other ideas and snapped his cameo short. At the halfway mark, 84 for 4 looked shaky, and it was Hetmyer’s measured fifty alongside Holder’s steady hand that offered brief respite. Despite their efforts, wickets fell like loose pages in the wind, denying the innings the flourish it needed. Every Australian bowler made a mark, but Ben Dwarshuis stole the spotlight with three scalps, backed by a tidy finish from Ellis, helping Australia contain the hosts to a total that felt competitive but never commanding.

As the innings wore on, West Indies’ bowlers found the going tough, unable to stitch together a rhythm to halt the charge. Daren Ganga had emphasised during his pitch analysis about the need for smart angle usage and tactical bowling sequencing, but execution fell short clearly. There were glimpses of control, yet the broader plan never really clicked into place. The only ray of hope emerged for the hosts when Akeal Hosein was introduced into the attack and finished with an economical three-for to his name, but it proved to be just too little and too late for them.

Despite losing the big four, the Aussies continued to be on the offensive against the bowlers so that the pressure didn't creep up massively. Cameron Green and Mitchell Owen threw caution to the wind and bossed up the middle phase with a ferocious assault which helped the Aussies to dominate. Hosein did break the 63-run stand for the fifth wicket, and also removed Cameron Green later, but with more than half the runs already chewed up and the game well in control, the incoming batters prevented the collapse and coasted them safely to the winning line with Aaron Hardie's calculated batting in the backend.

West Indies needed early wickets and they started off really well with Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph denting the top order with some precision. And with Marsh too gone cheaply, the tourists found themselves in heaps of early trouble. However, Tim David came out all guns blazing and did the rescue job before departing on 30 off just 12. Australia did lose four wickets inside the powerplay, but they managed to score 67 runs, versus West Indies' 49/3 at the same stage.

A tour to remember for Australia on the Caribbean soil as they maintain a clean slate, first bossing up in the whites and now going undefeated in the shortest format. Darren Sammy's expressions say it all in the dressing room as West Indies now have a serious job to recover from this humbling streak of defeats at home. Yes, they did challenge the tourists in patches, but just couldn't land the knockout punch even once. All smiles in the Australian camp as they have conquered this series handsomely.

FOUR! Sean Abbott with the winning runs! Australia complete the clean sweep! Full and on middle, Abbott gets low to make the connection and brings his wrists into play. Whips it on the bounce to the deep mid-wicket fence for a boundary. Australia win by 3 wickets with 3 overs to spare!

Forde serves it full, outside off, Sean Abbott advances down the track and stays leg side of the ball. Swings through the line but fails to connect.

The length is pulled back, on off and middle, Hardie gets on top of it and punches it to long on for one.

Slightly fuller, around the off stump, Aaron walks closer to the line of the ball and drives it straight to mid off.

On the line of the off stump, on a good length, Sean dabs it to the left of backward point and gets to the other end quickly.

This is on a good length, on middle, Aaron Hardie plays it with a straight bat towards long on for a single.

Sean Abbott is in at 9.