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Australia 2/171 (26.3 ov, R Ponting 57*, S Watson 53) def West Indies 170 (39.4 ov, D Smith 43, D Bollinger 4/28) by 8 wickets: ODI#2 at Adelaide Oval. Australia lead series 2-0Hot weather was forecast for Adelaide, and hot it was: the temperature stayed in the high 30s all day; and the wind blew hot from several directions, including the south west, which is normally from where cooler breezes blow.
I arrived early and had no difficulty getting a seat in the shade under the Moreton Bay figs. Further evidence of the temperature was given immediately after the toss (which West Indies won) when match referee Javagal Srinath strode off the ground not breaking the purposeful stride (which I recall from his days as a spearhead of India's attack) while removing his suit jacket and revealing a short sleeved shirt underneath. Wise man.
And the match itself? The result was determined quickly, if not from the first ball when Chris Gayle was lbw to Doug Bollinger, then soon after when the Windies were 4/16 (Bollinger 3/5 from 5 overs) on a good (is there any other kind?) Les Burdett pitch. Things couldn't get any worse but they didn't get much better for the visitors either. Some of the middle order got a start and Dwayne Smith with 43/63b (only 2x4 but one straight driven 6 which landed four rows back near the sightboard - one of the longest hits I've seen at Adelaide) led a revival of sorts to 170 all out from 39.4 overs. Perhaps the calls to reduce ODIs to 40 overs a side are designed to even things up even more? The last two WI wickets were impressive demonstrations of Australia's prowess. Ricky Ponting ran out Ravi Rampaul with a direct hit and next ball Mike Hussey ran perhaps 40 metres then dived to catch Smith. An early finish meant a long break between innings, which seemed silly in the circumstances. But of course there were the TV schedules to consider. I expect many viewers looked elsewhere for their evening's entertainment: not many spectators augmented the thin numbers who'd braved the heat (and in some instances the overzealous security and police). Despite what many others said I thought given the weather, the one sided contest and that it was a working (and school) day, that 8,378 was not a bad attendance, even if it was the lowest ever for an ODI featuring Australia at Adelaide. Those of us who stayed watched Australia sweep (and pull and drive) the West Indies attack aside in 26.3 overs (and 109 minutes). The visitors played like losers - there were no Ponting or Hussey moments in the field - but this doesn't detract from Shane Watson's 53/50b (2x6, 7x4) and Ponting's 57/55b (2x6, 8x4). Scorecard
Australia 5/454 d & 8/225 d beat Pakistan 258 and 251 (72ov, Mohammad Yousuf 61, N Hauritz 5/101) bt 170 runs: T1 D5 at MCG.Pakistan were never in the hunt after losing Umar Gul and Misbah-Ul-Haq to successive Mitchell Johnson balls in the first over of the morning. Captain Mohammad Younus tried to put a less bad face on impending defeat with 61/140b (7x4), but nobody stayed with him long enough to resist Johnson, Doug Bollinger and Nathan Hauritz, whose subtle variations earned him his best Test figures of 5/101. The Australian attack is good at working its way through an batting lineup of variable quality like Pakistan's. While far from perfect, the Australian fielding was appreciably better than the sub- Test quality butterfingered Pakistan fielding (exemplified by the dropping of Shane Watson on 99).
Can Pakistan improve enough to beat Australia? Despite their deserved reputation for inconsistency it's difficult to see this happening. If Danish Kaneria comes into the side for Sydney the bowling should be stronger (especially if, repeat if, the fielding lifts. The batting on paper looks good but needs to be able to post totals much great than 250. As for Australia, Ricky Ponting hasn't had a big innings for some time....
Scorecard
Australia 7/520 dec @ 8/137 (47ov) lead West Indies 312 (81 ov, C Gayle 102, T Dowlin 55, D Bollinger 5/70) by 345 runs with 2 second inns wkts in hand: T3 D3 at Perth. On the first two days 9 wickets fell for 634 runs. Day 3 was bowlers' day for both teams as 16 went down for 235 (WI losing 8/98, Aust 8/137).The West Indies batting collapse was reminiscent of the First Test so didn't come entirely out of the blue. The pitch played a few tricks, and will probably get worse, but the batting after Chris Gayle's dismissal lacked the technique and apparently (Brendan Nash excepted) the determination to tough it out. Which made their revival with the ball, pitch assistance notwithstanding, all the more surprising. All the bowlers performed with the livewire Dwayne Bravo 3/34 from 15 overs outstanding and Sulieman Benn 2/26 from 9 .What about Australia? Doug Bollinger deserved his 5 wickets, while Nathan Hauritz persisted well. he didn't extract as much spin as did Benn but his accuracy and variation were better. Of the batting the less said the better, though I will say how troubled Ricky Ponting looked when he came to the crease at no9 with the total 125. His elbow injury must be serious for him to hold himself back so far: it was the heart rather than the head which influenced this decision, just as it was the head which made him decide against enforcing the follow on. Good as it was to see the Windies revival I think that when several factors, including the condition of the pitch and the inconsistency of their batting, are weighed up Australia should be able to win from here. Of course if there was another blinder from Gayle...or solid knocks from a few others...Scorecard
