AUSTRALIA MAY not be as awesome as they used to be but this Michael Clarke-led resurgent outfit know how to win Test matches. That’s especially against opponents like the West Indies, who turned advantage into adversity.
After gaining the ascendancy for the first time on the penultimate day, the Aussies never relinquished that advantage afterward and won a topsy-turvy first Digicel cricket Test by three wickets in fading light at Kensington Oval yesterday.
Set 192 for victory after routing the West Indies for 148 in their second innings just before a late lunch was taken, Australia got home in the nick of time, when Man of The Match Ryan Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus – the two men at the heart of their team’s revival after they had lost seven wickets – fittingly scrambled the winning run at 5:43 p.m. to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
It was their fourth victory in 11 Tests at the venue and the manner in which it was achieved was significant as Clarke had boldly declared at 406-9, 43 runs behind the West Indies’ first innings total of 449-9 declared.
Read the full story in today’s DAILY NATION.
