Cricket

Australia Defeat Windies in First Test

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Seamer Stuart Clark captured a career-best five-wicket haul to bowl Australia to an easy 95-run victory over the West Indies on the final day of the first Digicel Test at Sabina Park on Monday.
 
Set 287 for a rare victory against the Aussies, the West Indies failed to produce the same competitive spirit and steely resolve of the last two days and capitulated for a modest 191 with none of their batsmen getting past 40.
 
The 32-year-old Clark ended with five for 32 in 20 overs of each way swing and seam on a nagging line and length which stifled the scoring of the West Indian batsmen, forcing them into fatal errors.
 
Having bettered his previous best of five for 55 on debut against South Africa in 2006, Clark was named Man-of-the-Match for his overall figures of eight for 91 in 39 overs, which pushed his career stats to 75 wickets in only 16 Tests at a miserly average of 20.77.   
 
The pacy Brett Lee, who took the key wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 11 courtesy of a return catch, ably assisted Clark but bowled without luck for the most part with a couple of catches being dropped off his bowling.
 
Clarke, who dismissed the first three in the West Indies batting order in both innings, and Lee (2-81) combined for 20 consecutive overs while bowling unchanged for 110 minutes in the extended pre-lunch session to sweep aside the top-six West Indies batsmen.
 
By the time they got a deserved rest, they had rendered the previously absorbing contest into a cakewalk for the Aussies with the Windies wobbling to 91 for six.
 
Even though Denesh Ramdin (36) and Darren Sammy (35) brought a measure of respectability to the final total with 67-run seventh-wicket stand, Australia wrapped up their 13th win in the last 14 Tests well before the tea interval to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series for the Frank Worrell Trophy.
 
The West Indian batsmen were never allowed to settle after they started the day on 46 for one, needing a further 241 runs to achieve the highest Test run-chase at the venue.
 
Whatever victory hope they had soon turned to despair when Andrew Symonds spectacularly caught captain Ramnaresh Sarwan for 12 on the second attempt in the covers off Clark as the batsman played across the line and got a leading edge.
 
Clark followed up with the wickets of Devon Smith, who misread the line of a delivery, which straightened to be palpably leg before wicket offering no shot for 28, and also claimed Dwayne Bravo without scoring.
 
Bravo, who was scoreless for 11 balls, tried to free himself and clipped a full-length delivery to Mitchell Johnson, who was strategically placed at a short mid-on, a few yards from the pitch.
 
At the other end, Lee won a leg before wicket verdict against Runako Morton (9) and ended the potential threat of Chanderpaul, who had been dropped off his bowling at first slip by Simon Katich in his previous over.
 
But once Lee and Clark came off, the sting went out of the Australian attack with Ramdin and Sammy cashing in on a dose of full tosses and long hops served up by leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, while also scoring freely against the ineffective left-armer Johnson.
 
After going to lunch on 117 for six, Ramdin and Sammy continued to frustrate the Australians on resumption, forcing captain Ricky Ponting to summon Lee for a second spell.
 
The break-through came instantly via the run-out route when Ramdin firmly hit a delivery to mid-on and set off for a sharp single but was beaten by a direct throw from MacGill at the bowler’s end.
 
Sammy followed for 35 when Clark captured his fifth wicket, trapping the batsman leg before wicket with an in-swinging delivery but the last two wickets, which went to MacGill, were questionable.
 
Daren Powell, who enjoyed himself for 27, appeared to miss a leg-break while last man Amit Jaggernauth never hit the ball but was given out by umpire Russell Tiffin for a bat-pad catch at forward short leg.

 

Australia 1st innings
P. Jaques lbw b Edwards 09    
S. Katich c. Sammy  b Edwards 12    
*R. Ponting c. Parchment b  Bravo 158    
M. Hussey c. Bravo b Jaggernauth 56    
B. Hodge c +Ramdin b Edwards 67    
M. Johnson c Powell b Sammy 22    
A. Symonds not out   70    
+B. Haddin c +Ramdin b Sammy 11    
B. Lee lbw b Edwards 04    
S. Clark c Bravo b Powell 03    
S. MacGill   b Edwards 02    
Extras (b 2, lb 13, nb 2) 17    
Total (10 wickets; 126.5 overs) 431    
 
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Katich), 2-37 (Jaques), 3-174 (Hussey), 4-293 (Ponting), 5-326 (Hodge), 6-350 (Johnson), 7-368 (Haddin), 8-383 (Lee), 9-399 (Clark), 10-431 (MacGill)
 
Bowling O M R W  
Powell 29 4 99 1  
Edwards 26.5 4 104 5  
Sammy 29 7 78 2 (1nb)
Bravo 22 6 61 1 (1nb)
Jaggernauth 20 0 74 1  
           
 
West Indies 1st innings
D. Smith   b Clark 32    
B. Parchment c +Haddin b Clark 09    
*R. Sarwan c +Haddin b Clark 07    
R. Morton c Clark b MacGill 67    
S. Chanderpaul c Hussey b Clark 118    
D. Bravo c Katich b Lee 46    
+D. Ramdin c +Haddin b Lee 0    
D. Sammy c Jacques b Johnson 0    
D. Powell   b Lee 03    
F. Edwards c +Haddin b Johnson 01    
A. Jaggernauth not out   0    
Extras (b 2, lb 10, w 3, nb 14)   29    
Total (all out; 106 overs)   312    
 
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Smith), 2-62 (Sarwan), 3-68 (Parchment), 4-196 (Morton), 5-260 (Bravo), 6-262 (Ramdin), 7-263 (Sammy), 8-268 (Powell), 9-298 (Edwards), 10-312 (Chanderpaul)
           
           
Bowling O M R W  
Lee 28 7 63 3 (9nb, 1 w)
Johnson 26 6 63 2 (4nb, 1w)
Clark 19 2 59 3 (1w)
McGill 22 2 100 2  
Symonds 11 4 15 0  
           
 
Australia 2nd innings
P. Jacques c +Ramdin b Edwards 4    
S. Katich lbw b Edwards 1    
*R. Ponting c Bravo b Powell 5    
M. Hussey   b Powell 1    
M. Johnson c + Ramdin b Powell 4    
B.Hodge c + Ramdin b Bravo 27    
A. Symonds c Sammy b Bravo 79    
+B. Haddin c Morton b Bravo 23    
B. Lee c + Ramdin b Edwards 9    
S. Clark c Bravo b Powell 1    
S. MacGill c Morton b Bravo 0    
Extras (b 2, lb 10, nb 1)   13    
Total (all out; 56.5 overs)   167    
 
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Jaques, 1.4 ov), 2-10 (Ponting, 2.6 ov), 3-12 (Katich, 7.4 ov), 4-12 (Hussey, 8.3 ov), 5-18 (Johnson, 10.5 ov), 6-70 (Hodge, 27.1 ov), 7-144 (Haddin, 47.5 ov), 8-162 (Lee, 55.6 ov), 9-166 (Symonds, 56.3 ov), 10-167 (MacGill, 56.5 ov)
           
           
Bowling O M R W  
Powell 15 5 36 3  
Edwards 16 3 40 3 (1nb)
Bravo 18.5 3 47 4  
Jaggernauth 3 0 22 0  
Sammy 4 0 10 0  
           
West Indies 2nd Innings        
D. Smith not out   19    
B. Parchment c + Haddin b Clark 15    
*R. Sarwan not out   8    
Extras (b 4)   4    
Total (1 wicket, 18 overs)   46    
           
Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Parchment, 7.3 ov)        
         
To bat: R. Morton, S. Chanderpaul, D. Bravo, + D. Ramdin, D. Sammy, D. Powell, F. Edwards, A. Jaggernauth        
         
Bowling O M R W  
Lee 6 0 24 0  
Clark 7 3 11 1  
Johnson 3 0 6 0  
MacGill 2 1 1 0  

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