West Indies 196 for 4 (Hetmyer 61, Bravo 47*) beat Australia 140 (Marsh 54, Walsh Jr 3-29) by 56 runs
Australia’s dismal start to their winter tour continued when they were comprehensively beaten by West Indies in the second of five T20 Internationals in St Lucia.
After Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bowl a day after Australia collapsed in chasing a low total, West Indies upped the aggression and posted a formidable total of 4/196, thanks largely to a 103-run fourth-wicket partnership between Shimron Hetmyer and Dwayne Bravo.
Mitchell Marsh was again the only Australian batter to offer any real resistance, adding a second half-century to his name, but there was little support around him and Australia’s chase fizzed out, leaving them 56 runs short. Here are our key takeaways from the match.
Starc’s struggles
Before the series, Mitchell Starc said he was hoping to find T20 rhythm after playing just a handful of T20Is in the past five years but, so far, he has found life difficult on slower pitches with little swing available. In the first two matches of the series his figures stand at 0/40 and 0/49, the latter his second worst figures in T20Is. The West Indies batters are enjoying his fuller lengths, although he did appear to bowl a fraction shorter in the second match. Whether it’s rustiness or lack of suitability, Starc has limited time to find the rhythm that seems elusive early in the tour.
West Indies Aggression
In contrast to the first match, the West Indies batters used their feet and the crease much more effectively, with immediate results. They gave themselves room, came down the pitch and didn’t allow Josh Hazlewood to settle during the powerplay. On a few occasions it left the stumps exposed and Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons and Chris Gayle were either cramped for room or misjudged the deliveries but, overall, it worked. Hetmyer and Bravo feasted on spinners Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa through the middle overs, begging the question of whether Finch might have turned to his allrounders. As it was, Marsh and Christian bowled just two overs each and Henriques was overlooked.
The lone Marsh resistance
There’s little chance Marsh will bat at No.3 when Australia is at full strength, but he’s certainly made a decent fist of his opportunity. The allrounder followed his 51 runs off 31 deliveries in the opening match by scoring 54 off 42 in the only innings of significance for Australia and he also picked up the wicket of Gayle. He looks in fine form with the bat and unfurled a combination of sweetly-timed drives and powerful slogs but, without support, it was never going to be enough.
Langer’s lengthy to-do list
Some may point to several mitigating factors for Australia’s performances at the start of this series; they are missing several key players, many of them haven’t played white ball - or any - competitive cricket for a few months and they are up against a humming West Indies side on their own turf and with more recent matches under their belt. But they have failed to bowl out the opposition in both games while being all out in chases that have fallen well short of the target. Yes, they may be trying out players in various roles, but they are being outclassed by a savvier West Indies outfit in every department and the fringe players, such as Ben McDermott and Josh Philippe have yet to make any impact. With only eight matches between now and the T20 World Cup, Justin Langer and the selectors have a lot to consider if they are to build a cohesive side, clear in their roles and possessing the tactics and game awareness to beat the best T20 teams.
