Windies soar before the fall

Halfway through the West Indies innings, it seemed Australian coach John Buchanan had got it all wrong.

Halfway through the West Indies innings, it seemed Australian coach John Buchanan had got it all wrong. The Baby8217;s Day Out theme for his team8217;s opening game seemed out of depth. If 25 days before the Champions Trophy and 53 days before the Ashes the Australians were trying to figure out the men from the boys, the veteran West Indies openers Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle had given their vote to the old-timers.

Chasing 280 for a win, West Indies were 172/1 after 23 overs. An open and shut case it seemed. The new Aussie pace trio of Nathan Braken, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson seemed like schoolkids at nets as lofty hits from Chanderpaul and Gayle were proving a threat to the flora and fauna around the tree-lined picturesque Kinrara cricket ground. But soon, the match took an exaggerated U-turn.

In the space of 11.2 overs, the beginning of the DLF tri-series was under threat of being re-christened Collapso series. As West Indies scuttled to 175 all out, Malaysia got a first-hand experience of that world famous Aussie grit.

There was enough evidence on field today that reassured the locals that Invincible Aussies isn8217;t a myth. Twenty-five year old Watson finish Man of the Match, despite conceding 9 runs in his first over. Nathan Bracken, just 5 ODIs old, gave away 15 and 17 in two disastrous overs but did his bit 8212; two late wickets 8212; to nail the West Indies.

Another pacer with similar experience too chipped in. Despite conceding 39 runs from 4 overs he came back to first dismiss Chanderpaul and later Brian Lara himself.

Or even take someone like Mark Cosgrove. The baby of the team with just one ODI too joined the party. In the only over he got, Cosgrove dismissed the dangerous Wavell Hinds.

Unlike the locals, the West Indian skipper has seen the Aussies for long to know about their bouncability. Talking to the media after the game, he didn8217;t understand the reason of his team8217;s loss but was quite clear about the factors behind Australia8217;s triumph. 8220;They have the winning habit, they can see themselves winning in any circumstances. They were still confident even when we were on the attack. They are the world champions. No matter what the position, they wouldn8217;t give up till the end,8217;8217; he said.

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The Aussie rookies did take their first uncomfortable steps and came out smiling, but if the reason for that was towering presence of their greats in the background. When new opener Phil Jaques didn8217;t quite fill up Mathew Hayden shoes, Ricky Ponting played the captain8217;s role. Even while fielding at square leg, he also happened to be at square leg when Ramnaresh Sarwan spooned the ball there.

But in a certain sense, the best field positioning of the day was that of Glenn McGrath. Besides being the best bowler of the day, his presence at mid-on was hugely beneficial for the Aussies. Not in terms of runs stopped or catches taken, but as friend and guide to the young fast bowlers at the top of their bowling mark.

Brief scores

Australia: 279/9 Michael Clarke 81, Ricky Ponting 54; Jerome Taylor 3/59 bt West indies: 201 all out Shivnarine Chanderpaul 92, Chris Gayle 58; Shane Watson 4/43.