Watson and Hussey set up Australia win

Shane Watson and Michael Hussey both scored half-centuries to set up a comfortable eight-wicket victory for Australia in the first Twenty20 in St Lucia. Kieron Pollard's 20-ball fifty, the fastest by a West Indian player in a Twenty20 international, proved to be in vain as the target of 151 was easily overhauled by the Australians with 11 balls to spare.

West Indies were left to rue their slow start, and in particular their struggle to rotate the strike in the first half of their innings after Darren Sammy won the toss and chose to bat. It was not until Pollard arrived at the crease that their run-rate started to lift but he ran out of time, finishing unbeaten on 54 from 26 deliveries, and Australia's innings was more complete than that of their opponents.

Australia lost David Warner in the first over of the chase when he tried to flick Krishmar Santokie through the leg side and was bowled by an excellent ball that angled in and then straightened, but that was the only early success for West Indies. Watson and Hussey put together a 108-run partnership that set up Australia's win, and at no stage did they let the scoring rate dip.

Watson struck six sixes in his 69 and was especially strong from midwicket to long-on. The left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin helped Watson out by overstepping and the resulting free hit was dispatched long and high over long-on, and the next over from Santokie cost 17 runs including two muscular Watson sixes.

The runs flowed with ease for Watson, whose half-century came in 38 deliveries, and at the other end Hussey was ticking the scoreboard over as well. Hussey's first six came when he lifted a Darren Sammy offcutter very high, but it was also long enough to clear long-off, and Sammy had no answers to the Watson-Hussey partnership until it was too late.

Eventually, Watson's 43-ball innings came to an end when he skied a catch to deep midwicket off Mathurin, but by then the job was all but done. Hussey brought up his fifty from his 40th delivery and clearly enjoyed the return to St Lucia, the venue of his greatest Twenty20 international achievement, his wonderful 60 not out in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 two years ago.

The next ball, Hussey was dropped at cover off the bowling of Dwayne Smith when Sammy jumped high and couldn't grasp the catch, but by then the Australians needed only 17 from 22 balls. Hussey finished unbeaten on 59 and the captain George Bailey struck the winning runs with a boundary through midwicket to end up on 17.

West Indies just didn't have enough runs on the board. Their 150 for 7 was not sufficient on a small ground and it was a shame for them that Pollard didn't have more time at the crease. The previous quickest fifty by a West Indian was Chris Gayle's 23-ball effort against Australia at The Oval during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, and Pollard bettered that by three balls.

He struck five sixes in his first fifty runs and he brought up his half-century - his first in Twenty20 internationals - with a single pushed to the leg side when Watson got his yorker right. Pollard's highlight was an enormous six straight that landed on the roof of the stand after it flew back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty, and that was part of a 22-run over.

Daniel Christian was punished for getting his length slightly wrong and went for consecutive sixes over the leg side as Pollard raced towards his milestone. He had come to the crease at 66 for 3 in the 11th over after the dot balls began to pile up earlier in the innings.

Smith was the first man out, caught behind for a run-a-ball 10 when Brett Lee found some extra bounce and away movement, and he was soon followed by his opening partner Johnson Charles, who was lbw walking across the crease to Watson for 24. Nkrumah Bonner, sent in at first drop, struggled to rotate the strike and was bowled for 24 from 33 balls when he advanced to Christian and tried to force the run-rate up.

Darren Bravo also found scoring difficult after his disappointing one-day series and pulled a catch to deep midwicket off the bowling of Christian for 12. Dwayne Bravo was part of a 62-run stand with Pollard but was essentially the silent partner, falling for 14 from 11 balls when he gave Christian his third wicket by lofting a catch to long-off.

Sammy was also taken at long-off for 7 before Carlton Baugh sacrificed his wicket to be run out for 1 in the final over in an effort to give the strike to Pollard, who finished unbeaten on 54 from 26 balls. But West Indies fans were left to wonder what could have been had Pollard's team-mates shown the same urgency that he did.

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Brutal Pollard helps West Indies take series lead

West Indies 294 for 7 (Pollard 102, Barath 41) beat Australia 252 all out (Lee 59, Hussey 57) by 42 runs

	Kieron Pollard scored his second ODI hundred with a brutal display of power hitting in St Lucia

Kieron Pollard at his most brutal left Australia with an insurmountable challenge at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia as West Indies took a 2-1 lead with one to play in an ODI series that is rivalling their wildest dreams. Pollard produced a memorable display of power hitting, 102 slugged from 70 balls to vanquish an Australian side that West Indies had come to regard as virtually unbeatable.

After a demoralising run against Australia of 13 defeats in 14 ODIs (the other being a no-result), West Indies now have two wins and a tie from their last three games. No side had ever scored more on this ground batting second than West Indies' 284 for 5 to beat England in 2004 and Australia had little chance to buck the trend once they had lost half their side for 112.

That they got so close owed much to a considered half-century by David Hussey and a wrathful late assault by Brett Lee, who was struck on the arm by a beamer from Kemar Roach and, despite fulsome apologies, was sore enough in mind and body to take 24 from Roach's next over, following three fours with two sixes flayed over long-on.

When Lee struck Andre Russell down the ground for two successive sixes, he surpassed his highest ODI score of 57, in his 216th match - and Russell had done nothing to vex him at all. Roach finally got his man in his final over, last out, caught at long-off, with 22 balls remaining.

Pollard had reached his hundred in the final over of West Indies' innings when he slugged a short ball from Lee over midwicket for six, a shot that looked as ponderous as it was effective. It was only his second ODI hundred in 55 attempts (he had only passed 50 four times before), but his threat is growing as an ODI average rising from 19 to 26 in the last year testifies. "It's only one of two," Pollard said. "I'm just trying to learn my craft. Some of those sixes I didn't middle."

Smart stats With their 42-run win in the fourth ODI, West Indies are on the verge of winning their first ODI series against Australia (bilateral series) in 17 years. Their last series win was in 1995 at home when they won 4-1. In the 1999 series, they drew 3-3 with one tie in Guyana. The century is Kieron Pollard's second in ODIs after his 119 against India in December. He now has 1255 runs at an average of 26.14 with two hundreds and four fifties. Pollard scored 102 off just 70 balls to push West Indies to 294. His strike rate of 145.71 is the highest strike rate for a 100-plus score by a West Indian batsman against Australia and the fourth-highest overall for such a score by a West Indian. Pollard, who hit eight sixes during his knock, is now level third on the list of West Indian batsmen with the most sixes in an ODI innings. Pollard also holds the second position too with 10 sixes in Chennai against India. The eight sixes is also a record in an ODI innings against Australia. West Indies scored 134 runs in the last 11 overs of the innings. This is the second-highest aggregate for them in the last 11-over period since 2005. The highest for them is 141 against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2005 when Brian Lara made 156. The 19 sixes hit in the match is a record for the most number of sixes hit in a West Indies-Australia ODI. West Indies' score of 294 is their third-highest overall and their second-highest first-innings total against Australia. They have lost on only one occasion after scoring over 280 in their first innings. Sunil Narine's economy rate of 2.10 is the best for West Indies against Australia since Mervyn Dillon's spell of 4 for 20 in ten overs in 1999 (ten-plus over spells). Brett Lee made his highest ODI score. Lee hit five sixes during his knock and took 24 runs off Kemar Roach's ninth over.

West Indies' innings, stagnating for long periods, finished in a mood of revelry. They took 23 from the final over from Lee, Darren Sammy rounding things off with 31 not out in 13 balls as if he briefly imagined himself Pollard reincarnate.

Shane Watson's decision to bowl first was out of character for an Australian captain. Perhaps the excitement of the journey north to St Lucia got the better of him as Australia finally escaped the slow surfaces of St Vincent. Instead, on a surface offering more pace and bounce - disconcertingly steep bounce on occasions - they ran into Pollard's meaty destruction. "I wouldn't do anything differently," said Watson. "Pollard was impressive, no doubt. It was a beautiful wicket, but if we had taken our catches it would help."

After 39 overs, West Indies were 160-5, four overs of a Powerplay had brought only 15 runs and their innings was close to stagnation. Then Watson, whose seven overs had cost only 15, conceded 17 runs from his eighth as Pollard moved into overdrive. He had a lively ally in Andre Russell during a sixth-wicket stand of 94 in 11 overs that changed the complexion of the match.

Pollard had his moments of good fortune and most of them involved Peter Forrest. Like most touring cricketers, he might not have known the whereabouts of St Lucia in relation to St Vincent but his sense of direction was equally lacking when it came to the exact position of the boundary rope at deep backward square.

Pollard was only 15 when a venomous, flat pull flew through Forrest's hands as he came in a couple of yards closer than he had to. Another mishit against Lee on 24 narrowly evaded David Hussey as he sprinted back at midwicket. Much punishment later, Xavier Doherty dropped a simple chance; and Forrest might also have caught Pollard on 81, but it required several TV replays before the third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, decided that Forrest's catch was illegal. It was hard to tell whether Forrest's boot had brushed the rope but in any event his decision to throw the ball back infield as his momentum carried him over the rope was a lackadaisical effort.

Pollard can destroy a fielding side's bearings. He blocks more balls than most, but when he hits, he hits so powerfully that his blocking becomes irrelevant. Even when he did not quite middle a pull against Watson, late in his innings, leaning back like a boxer on the ropes, it careered for six over long-on, an area where he got roughly half his runs.

Johnson Charles' innings was made of different stuff. He is only the second cricketer from St Lucia to represent West Indies and was playing in front of his home crowd for the first time. He was angsty, understandably so, needing 30 balls to reach double figures. He encouraged the crowd into excitement with a straight six against Clint McKay but fell for 37 soon after the mid-point, holing out at long-on to an unusual dancing catch by Lee.

Adrian Barath, back in the side after a hundred for Trinidad against Guyana a week ago, provided early impetus with nine fours in all in his 41 from 31 balls. But Marlon Samuels' contribution was excruciating and Dwayne Bravo fell first ball.

Australia's reply malfunctioned as early as the second over when David Warner, one of the few batsmen capable of matching Pollard's slugging style, spooned a drive against Dwayne Bravo to mid-on.

Watson played smoothly for a while, only to pull Darren Sammy's loosener to mid-on. Sammy's short ball, not often regarded as devilish, enjoyed further spoils in his next over when Charles plunged forward at third man to hold a top-edged hook from Forrest and leave for ice pack treatment on a damaged shoulder.

If Sammy's breakthroughs frustrated Australia, two wickets in an over for Russell would have irked them even more. Russell, defying a knee complaint, could barely muster a limping celebration as he first had George Bailey caught at the wicket, cutting, and then two balls later defeated Mike Hussey's attempted pull.

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Doherty helps Australia to 64-run win

Xavier Doherty enjoyed his first taste of cricket in the West Indies, playing a key role in Australia's 64-run victory in the first ODI in St Vincent. After the debutant George Bailey top scored in Australia's 204 for 8, a total that was difficult to assess at the halfway point on a sluggish pitch, West Indies capitulated to be all out for 140, and their failure was all the more disappointing for the self-inflicted nature of several of the dismissals.

Batting was clearly not easy on a surface with such little pace, but too few of the West Indian batsmen showed the discipline required to stick around and chip away at the target. Darren Sammy displayed some late fight and compiled a 36-run partnership for the last wicket with Kemar Roach, but until that point they had lost their previous six wickets for seven runs.

Prior to that collapse, the chase appeared to be going well as Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels built a confident 64-run stand and went after the spin of Doherty and David Hussey. The Australians hadn't managed to clear the rope at all during their innings but after Bravo pulled a Hussey long-hop for six, Samuels cleared the boundary three times in Doherty's first over.

Those sixes, all down the ground and struck with power, left Doherty scratching his head, but once Daniel Christian broke the partnership by sneaking a ball between bat and pad to bowl Bravo for 32, Doherty began his fightback. He claimed Samuels for 35, the result of both good bowling and a poor shot selection, as the batsman tried to force a ball through leg and instead edged to slip.

Carlton Baugh was lbw for a duck in the same over, attempting a slog sweep, and Andre Russell was stumped for 1, beaten by Doherty's turn and his own impatience. Kieron Pollard was one of the last remaining hopes for West Indies but he too failed to adapt to the slow pitch and chipped Christian to mid-on for 4 from 11 balls.

Doherty finished with 4 for 49 after he had Sunil Narine caught in the deep for a duck. Sammy didn't give up and struck three fours and three sixes, and showed that if someone had stuck around with him West Indies might have remained in the match. He was the last man out, caught at cover off Clint McKay for 35 from 20 balls, and it ended a limp batting display from the hosts.

The innings started encouragingly enough as the debutant opener Johnson Charles swivelled Brett Lee powerfully through midwicket for four in the first over and raced to 13 from 11 balls. But it started to go downhill when slashed at a wide delivery from McKay and was caught at third man.

Kieran Powell followed for 8 when he pulled Lee to Bailey at midwicket and West Indies were 23 for 2. That soon became 33 for 3 when Darren Bravo pushed to the leg side and took off for a quick single only to be beaten by Lee's direct hit at the bowler's end. Bravo made 4 from 15 balls and West Indies were in trouble. Australia's 204 for 8 was starting to look much better.

It was the fourth time in the past five years Australia had batted through an entire 50-over innings for so few runs, but on all four occasions they have won the game. They had Bailey to thank for getting them up to a defendable score, as the Australians also battled against the slow bowling of Samuels (2 for 29) and Narine (1 for 24).

Bailey's 48 had come from 67 balls and he struck five boundaries before he was caught at deep cover when he skied Roach in the second-last over of the innings. But by ticking the score over as he had, and by taking few risks, he ensured Australia batted out their overs after they slumped to be 99 for 4 in the 27th over.

Shane Watson had won the toss and chosen to bat and while he scored at nearly a run a ball in his 21 at the top of the order, the runs slowed when the ball lost its hardness. Watson was lbw to a Dwayne Bravo delivery that nipped back in and he injudiciously used up Australia's review, the replays showing he was plumb.

David Warner and Peter Forrest added 60 for the second wicket but it was slow going, especially for Forrest, who seemed unable to adjust to the conditions. Forrest had 26 from 64 balls when he was stumped off Samuels, advancing down the pitch and trying to force the run rate up, and it was the first of two wickets in the over as Warner followed four balls later.

Warner had made 40 from 55 deliveries and fell when he punched a catch to cover, where Pollard took a terrific diving one-handed catch. Samuels had got the rewards, but much of the credit also had to go to Narine, who had tied the batsmen down and to that stage had bowled five overs for 12 runs.

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West Indies v Australia::Ramdin injured, replaced by Baugh for ODIs

Denesh Ramdin has fractured his right thumb while batting in a warm-up match and will be replaced in the West Indies squad by Carlton Baugh for the first three matches of the ODI series against Australia. Ramdin, who was named vice-captain for the series, will travel back to Trinidad & Tobago and is expected to be out for two weeks, which means he is likely to miss all five matches of the series and perhaps the two Twenty20 internationals too.

Baugh will have to leave Jamaica's match against T & T in the Regional Four-Day competition, in which he had scored a century on the first day, midway, and will be replaced by Horace Miller in the Jamaican line-up. Baugh, who is West Indies' first-choice keeper in Tests, has not played a limited-overs international since India's ODI series in the West Indies in June last year.

Ramdin replaced Baugh in the West Indies one-day XI after that series, after a year of being ignored. He impressed on the tour of India, scoring a fighting 96 in the fourth ODI, in Indore, but has now had his comeback interrupted by injury.

West Indies will name a new vice-captain for the ODI series in the next few days. The squad will travel from Barbados to St Vincent on Monday, where they will play the first ODI against Australia on March 16.

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