Australia's eight-wicket victory over West Indies in Canberra is quickest completed men's ODI ever to be played in the country and sixth-quickest worldwide; Xavier Bartlett finishes with figures of 4-21 before Jake Fraser-McGurk blasts 41 from 18 balls and Josh Inglis unbeaten 35 from 16
Tuesday 6 February 2024 08:31, UK
Xavier Bartlett took four wickets to help set up a record one-day international victory and a 3-0 series sweep for Australia over West Indies.
The tourists were rolled over for just 86 in 24.1 overs after losing the toss and being made to bat first, with pace bowler Bartlett taking 4-21.
Australia then needed just 6.5 overs to knock off the victory target to ensure victory by eight wickets in what goes down as the shortest completed men's ODI ever to be played in the country.
Jake Fraser-McGurk blasted 41 from 18 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes as part of an opening stand of 67 with Josh Inglis (35no from 16 balls), as Australia romped home with 259 balls to spare.
Along with being the fastest men's ODI to be played in Australia, the clash in Canberra was the sixth-fastest worldwide.
Barlett, who was named player of the match and player of the series, said. "It's pretty insane. It's just great to get a taste of international cricket.
"To cap it off with a series win was great. There was still some pressure there, but I relaxed a little bit more and tried to enjoy it a little bit more and they came out all right again."
Opener Alick Athanaze top-scored for the West Indies with 32, but no other batter managed more than 12 and 13 of the tourists' runs came from extras.
The teams now play a three-match T20I series, with the earlier Test series having finished level at 1-1, and West Indies captain Shai Hope is seeking some positives in the game's shortest format.
"Our batting let us down - it did for the entire [ODI] series," Hope said. "We need to do some real soul searching to understand what's needed in certain conditions.
"You can't really put your finger on one thing in particular. The mindset has a lot to do with it, playing the situation. We just didn't bat as well as we could have.
"We must take the positives with us and try to negate the negatives. Hopefully we can come back stronger for the next series."
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