Sport

HOBART, Australia, Australia (CMC):

The West Indies batting collapsed again and Australia motored to their fifth win in two weeks over the Caribbean side, as their two-match Twenty20 International series began yesterday.

Australia secured a 38-run triumph at Bellerive Oval where they posted 179 for eight off their 20 overs and limited the West Indies reply to 141 for eight off 20.

Pacers Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes rocked the West Indies batting and ensured an emphatic win for the Australians, who were coming off a 4-0 win in the One Day International (ODI) series.

Faced with a testing winning target of 180, the West Indies suffered the familiar top-order disintegration that has plagued them on tour this month, and they crumbled rapidly to 26 for four in the fourth over.

'We faltered'

"The start again (was bad) we faltered in that area, we lost about four quick wickets and that actually cramped us," said West Indies captain Chris Gayle, who had been anticipating a turnaround of form in the T20s.

Man of the match Tait, fast and accurate, bowled Gayle (5) and removed Narsingh Deonarine (0) with consecutive deliveries in the second over. The tourists declined to 14 for three in the next over when Nannes dislodged Lendl Simmons, caught at third man for five.

In-form Kieron Pollard came in and lashed two boundaries but soon fell for 12, caught behind off Tait.

It took a fighting half-century stand from Denesh Ramdin and Runako Morton to save the Windies from complete embarrassment after left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson removed Wavell Hinds (11) and Dwayne Smith (4), who were both caught attempting big shots.

Ramdin and Morton linked up in the 10th over, with the West Indies at a perilous stage on 53 for six, and carried the score to 126 before Ramdin was caught in the deep off Nannes for a top score of 44.

Ramdin struck seven boundaries in a 26-ball knock and Morton stroked 40 off 41 balls with three boundaries before he too fell to Nannes.

The second game in the series will be played tomorrow in Sydney.

AUSTRALIA Innings

S Watson c wkp Ramdin b Gayle 37

D Warner c&b Smith 49

M Clarke c Miller b Pollard 12

D Hussey c Roach b Gayle 1

C White c Pollard b Miller 15

T Birt st wkp Ramdin b Miller 13

+B Haddin not out 37

M Johnson c&b Sammy 4

S Smith c wkp Ramdin b Smith 8

Extras (w2, nb1) 3

TOTAL (8 wickets - 20 overs) 179

Did not bat: S Tait, D Nannes

Fall of wickets: 1-83 (Watson, 7.5 overs), 2-86 (Warner, 8.3), 3-95 (Hussey, 9.4), 4-106 (Clarke, 12.1), 5-128 (Birt, 15.2), 6-129 (White, 15.4), 7-151 (Johnson, 18.1), 8-179 (Smith, 19.6)

Bowling: Deonarine 2-0-17-0; Miller 4-0-20-2; Sammy 3-0-36-1; Roach 2-0-30-0 (1nb, 1w); Smith 3-0-38-2; Gayle 2-0-15-2; Pollard 4-0-23-1 (1w).

WEST INDIES Innings

C Gayle b Tait 5

L Simmons c Tait b Nannes 5

N Deonarine c Watson b Tait 0

K Pollard c wkp Haddin b Tait 12

W Hinds c Watson b Johnson 11

R Morton c Smith b Nannes 40

D Smith c Smith b Johnson 4

+D Ramdin c Hussey b Nannes 44

D Sammy not out 3

N Miller not out 11

Extras (lb2, w4) 6

TOTAL (8 wickets - 20 overs) 141

Did not bat: K Roach

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Gayle, 1.3 overs), 2-12 (Deonarine, 1.4), 3-14 (Simmons, 2.2), 4-26 (Pollard, 3.6), 5-46 (Hinds, 7.3), 6-53 (Smith, 9.3), 7-126 (Ramdin, 17.5), 8-126 (Morton, 17.6)

Bowling: Nannes 4-0-21-3 (1w); Tait 4-0-30-3 (3w); Johnson 4-0-28-2; Hussey 1-0-4-0; Smith 3-0-23-0

Clarke 2-0-19-0; Watson 2-0-14-0

Result: Australia win by 38 runs

Series: Australia lead 1-0 in two-match series

Man of the match: Shaun Tait (Australia)

Toss: Australia

Umpires: Bruce Oxenford, Paul Reiffel

TV Umpire: Rod Tucker

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath