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Aussies waltz to win
Garth Wattley in Grenada - 14 April 1999

They had come to see good cricket and celebrate. And from all around sparkling New Queen's Park, the fans played their music.

But at the end of Grenada cricket's day of days, the sounds of celebration were more along the lines of ``Waltzing Matilda'' rather than ``Rally Round the West Indies.''

To a degree, Steve Waugh's Australian team spoiled the natives' fun with their series levelling-win in the second Cable & Wireless One-day International yesterday.

But the difference between the two teams was not only the 44-run margin of victory, it was also the approach to the batting. Unlike in St Vincent, Waugh's men did not make a hash of a run chase.

Given a target of 288-a new One-day record against the WI-on a flat track with a Ferrari-fast outfield, the task was never going to be easy.

But the Man-of-the-Match-award winning 110 by Darren Lehmann, made in a record-breaking unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Michael Bevan (72), was testimony to the rewards to be reaped for sound batting.

It seemed lost on the WI.

In the very first over, Shivnarine Chanderpaul's uppish cut off Damien Fleming was superbly snared by Shane Lee at gully, and then, to the dismay of Queen's Park, Brian Lara dragged an attempted pull off the same bowler onto his stumps.

The crowd lost its voice at the sight of the West Indies captain departing after just 13 balls. It was a strangely cavalier display from Lara, who struck two unconvincing boundaries in his nine.

It was the wrong day to follow the leader. But too many of Lara's men did.

However, Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams will feel that their work was worth more than the 46 and 40 respectively they made. And when they were at the crease, entertainingly compiling 84 for the third wicket in 14 overs, the WI looked to have their best chance at recovery.

Adams, with two cracking pulls square and fine off Fleming, was batting with a style and confidence not seen from him for years. But at 102 for 2, he carelessly played across a Shane Warne ball and was bowled.

The music stopped again.

Four overs later, there was more grief when Campbell, again making a relative success of his One-day assignment, was bowled all over the shop trying to hit Lee to long-on.

Warne, like in St Vincent, commanded respect. And Lee added to his catch off Chanderpaul and dismissal of Campbell, the wicket of Keith Arthurton, bowled for a duck, and the run-out of Curtly Ambrose by a direct hit to end the match.

Ambrose, counting one mighty, straight six in his 23, was part of the fighting lower order effort, led by a solid 39 from Phil Simmons. Together the pair added 32 for the ninth wicket in four overs.

But that attempt could not compensate for the premature loss of Carl Hooper (17), caught and bowled by his nemesis, Waugh (S) with the score on 135, and Stuart Williams (25), who skied Warne to substitute Tom Moody at 174.

But Simmons and Ambrose could not make up for the trouble higher up in the order.

Earlier, the Aussies had solved their batting trouble.

The stability, so lacking in the middle order during the failed St Vincent run chase, was re-established emphatically by the left-handers Lehmann and Bevan.

Not only did the pair prevent another decline from 116 for 4 in the 26th over when captain Waugh loosely slashed Reon King straight to Lara at cover-point, but they made their stand one for the records.

The 172-run partnership is a new One-day record for the fifth wicket for Australia against all countries, beating 159 posted by Bevan and Ricky Ponting versus Sri Lanka in 1995/96.

The approach over the 24 overs they were together negated the effort of the fielding team over the first half of the innings. With the ground work that was again fairly sharp, the fielders supported bowling that for the most part was containing.

Opening bowler King had his problems, sending down four no-balls and conceding 27 runs in his first four overs.

But once he was replaced by Arthurton at the northern end, the early boundaries did not come as regularly.

The first change in fact brought a wicket.

Hooper had just replaced Ambrose at the southern end when he drew the first shouts of triumph from the primed crowd.

Left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman Adam Gilchrist (17), playing across a turning delivery, was caught at slip by Chanderpaul with the score on 30 in the seventh over.

That was to be the first of several moves that paid off early for the West Indies captain. The tactic to use spinners to stem the early flow of runs worked.

And the bonus of that first Hooper wicket was doubled in the 20th over when Mark Waugh, after getting easily to 41 in 58 deliveries, again gave his wicket away, driving a full toss back to Hooper.

Lara would have been even more grateful for the wickets of Damien Martyn, bowled off-stump by King, playing across the line, and the Aussie captain by the halfway stage.

But then Lehmann and Bevan produced an effective antidote.

Never shy to put away the bad delivery as Lehmann often did in striking 10 fours and a pulled six off Hooper, the two paced themselves well, first preserving their wickets, and then placing their hits well enough to accumulate some 91 runs in the closing 10 overs.

It was a display fit to win any game.

But still the Queen's Park posse kept hoping that when the ``Fat Lady'' began to sing later in the afternoon, it would not have been the Matilda melody.


Source: The Express (Trinidad)