Australia rout West Indies in Adelaide to sweep series

Australia routed West Indies for 77 in the second innings to romp to a 419-run victory in the day-night second test and complete a 2-0 series sweep at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Mitchell Starc celebrates a wicket.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Chasing a hopeless victory target of 497, the West Indies’ defeat was merely a matter of time after they began the penultimate day on a precarious 38-4.

Australia took 90 minutes to complete formalities, with Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc sharing five of the last six West Indies wickets.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s 17 was the highest score by a West Indies batter in their sorry-looking scorecard.

“Big partnerships set us up, and the bowlers were splendid as we continue to be undefeated in pink-ball tests,” said stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith, referring to their 11-0 record in day-night tests.

Smith heaped praise on his batters, especially Marnus Labuschagne, whose three 100-plus scores in four innings fetched him the player-of-the-series award.

“He works incredibly hard in the nets. He’s very adaptable to situations. No reason why he wouldn’t continue.”

Scott Boland’s three-wicket burst on Saturday had put Australia on the brink of a massive victory, and Starc (3-29) removed overnight batsmen Devon Thomas and Jason Holder within the first 30 minutes on Sunday to effectively expose the West Indies tail.

Neser (3-22) then took over, dismissing Roston Chase and Joshua Da Silva in the same over. He removed Marquino Mindley to seal Australia’s victory with five sessions to spare.

In between, spinner Nathan Lyon bowled Alzarri Joseph to claim his 450th test wicket in his 112th match.

Alex Carey put up a wicketkeeping masterclass for the hosts, pouching three stunning catches to hasten the collapse of the West Indies.

World number one Australia were without regular skipper Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood through injury, but Boland and Neser ensured they were not missed.

“Disappointing second game for sure,” West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said.

“We showed some fight in the first test. We lost a few guys to injury but did not play well.”

“We need to learn from their batters about leaving and how their bowlers bowled to their fields.”

Local boy Travis Head was adjudged player-of-the-match for his career-best 175 that helped Australia post 511-7 before declaring their first innings.

Australia next play a three-test home series against South Africa beginning in Brisbane on December 17.

– Reuters