Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken bowled Australia to one of their biggest victories over the West Indies, winning the first Test by 379 runs with a day to spare at the Gabba.Lee finished with Test career best figures of 5-30 and Bracken, playing his fourth Test match, claimed 4-48 as the Australian routed the Caribbeans for 129 off just 49 overs.Australia declared on their overnight total of 283-2, leaving the West Indies with a record-breaking task of scoring 509 runs for victory. But they were nowhere near up to the task and capitulated once their champion batsman Brian Lara fell for 14 not long after lunch on the fourth day. The West Indies lost their last nine wickets for 76 as they once again collapsed in spectacular fashion. Their first innings score of 210 had left them trailing by a massive 225 runs. Ricky Ponting was announced the man-of-the-match for his centuries in both innings. Meanwhile, Lara’s miserable run in Australia continued when he was splendidly caught by Matthew Hayden in the gully for 14. Lara’s 69-minute stay ended when he sparred at a swinging Nathan Bracken delivery and dropped his head in resignation as Hayden latched on to a diving two-handed catch.Since arriving in Australia last month to play for the World XI and the Windies, Lara has scores of 0, 5, 0, 5, 36, 1, 30, 14 — 91 runs at an average of 11.3. Lara raised his bat to the Gabba crowd as he left the field in acknowledgement that it would be his farewell Test appearance in Brisbane. Lara is just 272 runs away from becoming Test’s all-time leading runscorer.His dismissal triggered a mini-collapse. Skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul didn’t play a shot and was trapped leg before wicket by a Bracken in-swinger for seven and Ramnaresh Sarwan fell next ball, fending a Lee lifter to Adam Gilchrist for 31.Denesh Ramdin became Lee’s third victim, snapped up by Gilchrist for six to expose to the shallow West Indian tail. Daren Powell was lbw to Bracken for a duck and Fidel Edwards was bowled with the next ball, putting the left-arm seamer on a hat-trick.But Corey Collymore saw off the threat before he was lbw to Lee for four. Lawson was bowled by Lee for a duck to complete the innings.Meanwhile, Watson fell heavily on his left shoulder in preventing a boundary and was taken for scans, putting him in doubt for the second Test.SCOREBOARDAustralia (1st Innings): 435. West Indies (1st Innings): 210Australia (2nd Innings): M Hussey c Collymore b Gayle 29; M Hayden c Sarwan b Gayle 118; R Ponting not out 104; M Clarke not out 14; Extras (b 6, lb 3, w 1, nb 8): 18; Total (for 2 wkts decl): 283 Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-258. Bowling: Edwards 5-0-27-0, Powell 5-1-24-0, Lawson 6-0-47-0, Collymore 11-0-56-0, Gayle 27-4-74-2, Samuels 12-1-46-0.West Indies (2nd Innings): C Gayle c Warne b Watson 33; D Smith c Warne b Lee 3; R Sarwan c Gilchrist b Lee 31; B Lara c Hayden b Bracken 14; S Chanderpaul lbw Bracken 7; M Samuels not out 17; D Ramdin c Gilchrist b Lee 6; D Powell lbw Bracken 0; F Edwards b Bracken 0; C Collymore lbw Lee 4; J Lawson b lee 1; Extras (lb 3, nb 10): 13; Total: 129. Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-53, 3-85, 4-99, 5-99, 6-105, 7-106, 8-106, 9-114. Bowling: McGrath 11-3-22-0, Lee 14-4-30-5, Watson 6-0-25-1, Bracken 16-3-48-4, Warne 2-1-1-0.
