Aussie on course for Caribbean clean sweep after incredible Maxwell catching exhibition

Herald Sun

6 days ago

Australia has continued its dominant tour of the West Indies with another strong performance at Warner Park, with veteran Glenn Maxwell's fielding and batting a feature in the three-wicket triumph on Sunday.
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Australia has continued its dominant tour of the West Indies with another strong performance at Warner Park, with veteran Glenn Maxwell's fielding and batting a feature in a three wicket triumph on Sunday AEST.
The Australians are now just one win away from completing a clean sweep of both the three Test and five T20 match tour of the Caribbean after chasing down a target of 205 in the match held on the small ground on the island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The final match of a white ball series in which several Australians have excelled as they seek to press their claims for next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka will be held on Wednesday morning, AEST, in Basseterre.
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With Maxwell a stand out in the field, taking two superb catches and also playing the lead role in a remarkable tandem act dismissal with Cameron Green, the Aussies were always in control of the fourth match of the T20 series.
Having secured the series a day prior, they had the luxury of resting record-breaking batter Tim David, but his absence mattered little as Josh Inglis, who scored his second 50 for the series, Maxwell (47) and Green, who was 55 not out, cashed in with the bat.
The only moments of concern were when Mitch Marsh was removed LBW by impressive newcomer Jediah Blades with the second ball, with a replay showing the Australian skipper should have reviewed his dismissal, and also midway through the chase.
With the Aussies coasting to victory, Blades created some doubt when removing Mitch Owen for two and then snaring Cooper Connolly as well in the 12th over to put the tourists under some pressure at 5-134.
But at a batting friendly venue, with all four innings to date resulting in scores of over 200, Green and fellow Western Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie regained the momentum, with the Aussies reaching the total in the final over.
The West Indies last chance came when Sherfane Rutherford spilled Green, who has now made three half-centuries for the series, in the outfield in the second last over, which could have given the tourists some anxious moments at the end.
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It was an impressive performance by the Australians in every regard and Maxwell, the Man of the Match, was brilliant with both the ball and the bat.
The 36-year-old demonstrated his athleticism in the field with the tandem-act combination Cameron Green to dismiss Romario Shepherd, who had attempted to punch Zampa for six, for 28.
He had previously taken a diving catch to remove the West Indian captain Hope in the infancy of the innings before a sensational effort to dismiss Roston Chase for a golden duck off the bowling of Hardie.
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin described Maxwell as the best fielder in the world.
'We have seen him take some unbelievable catches ... but it is not by chance. It is the work he puts in and the details he considers,' he said on ESPN.
Although the Australian attack conceded more than 200 runs again, the bowlers were able to take wickets regularly, which stymied the hosts bid to post a massive total that would have put the Australians under pressure when batting.
Sent into bat for the fourth time in as many innings by Marsh after the Aussie skipper again won the toss, the Australians demonstrated the depth of their squad immediately by opting to open the bowling with new inclusions Hardie and Xavier Bartlett.
The pair struck early to remove dangerous openers Shai Hope, a centurion in the third match of the series, and Brandon King in the powerplay and ultimately finished with two wickets each as Australia fell just shy of bowling the West Indies out for the first time.
Adam Zampa was again expensive, conceding more than 50 runs from his four overs for the second match in succession, but struck back well after an early onslaught to finish with 3-54.
Miserly in Friday night's encounter in the West Indies, Sean Abbott was also taken to task but was able to snare two wickets as well when finishing with 2-61.
Some superb bowling from Nathan Ellis at the death helped restrict the West Indies to a manageable total, with their innings disrupted by rain with just four balls remaining, which caused a delay of almost an hour.
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When the flurry of rain arrived at the Saint Kitts and Nevis ground, the West Indies were 9-203 with four balls remaining in the innings. The Aussies, who have used only five bowlers in the innings, have taken wickets regularly and are seeking to bowl their rivals out for the first time in a series they lead 3-0.
The Australians were hit with a fielding penalty in the final over, which reduced the number of men allowed outside the inner-circle, after falling behind on the over rate.
While the West Indies have scored at more than 10 runs per over, the Aussies would be happy with their position given recent history in this series and at the ground.
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