Stand-in captain Alex Carey scored a half-century and pacer Mitchell Starc took five wickets as Australia thrashed West Indies by 133 runs in the rain-hit first ODI here on Tuesday.
Chasing (DLS-method adjusted) 257 for victory after Australia scored 252/9 in 49 overs after three rain delays, the Windies were bundled out for 123 with only skipper Kieron Pollard (56) offering some resistance.
Starc did most of the damage for the visitors with superb figures of 5/48, which included the wicket of Pollard, who came back into the side after a hamstring issue. Josh Hazlewood also impressed with 3/11 from six overs as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Carey, filling in for regular skipper Aaron Finch who aggravated a knee problem in last week’s final T20I between the two teams, won the toss and elected to bat as Australia made a steady start. Josh Philippe (39), Ben McDermott (28) and Mitchell Marsh (20) all got starts, but it was the skipper who made the most with 67 off 87 balls.
Along with Ashton Turner (49), he added 104 runs for the fifth wicket before the team capitulated, with West Indies leg-spinner Hayden Walsh picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket in the space of 16 balls.
“I thought the wicket might have played a bit different to what it did earlier. But for us to adapt and put a total on the board, and then for the Powerplay to go the way it
did for us was fantastic,” Carey said.
Brief scores: Australia 252/9 in 49 ovs (A. Carey 67; H. Walsh 5/39). West Indies 123 in 26.2 ovs (K. Pollard 56; M. Starc 5/48). Australia won by 133 runs.
