
Sydney, February 7: Australian captain Steve Waugh said he was always confident his team would beat West Indies in Wednesdayacirc;euro;trade;s first limited-overs final at the Sydney Cricket Ground even after a mid-order collapse.
Waugh said he was not at all surprised by the way his team fought back from 179-6 to reach 253-9 and skittled out the tourists for 119 to win by 134 runs.acirc;euro;oelig;To be honest I didnacirc;euro;trade;t feel nervous at all. Weacirc;euro;trade;ve always got belief in what weacirc;euro;trade;re doing,acirc;euro; Waugh said. acirc;euro;oelig;I really thought we were going to get 250 all along even when we were 170-odd for six.acirc;euro;
Four of Australiaacirc;euro;trade;s top five batsmen made at least 23 runs but none made it to 45, leaving all-rounder Ian Harvey to prop up the innings with a dashing 47 not out. acirc;euro;oelig;It would have been nice if someone had got 50 or 60 but it doesnacirc;euro;trade;t really matter because we kept the pressure on the West Indian bowlers,acirc;euro; Waugh said. acirc;euro;oelig;Harvs sort of bailed us out towards the end but we expect that from the players. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re good enough to do it so itacirc;euro;trade;s not a great surprise.acirc;euro;
West Indies coach Roger Harper said the team were still confident of saving the series. acirc;euro;oelig;It was a very disappointing result. We bowled well enough but didnacirc;euro;trade;t bat well enough,acirc;euro; he said.
acirc;euro;oelig;Weacirc;euro;trade;ve played well in patches and, if we can put it together with the bat, then we have a good chance. Weacirc;euro;trade;ve been here for three months and it would be nice to beat Australia once before we go home.acirc;euro;