CANBERRA, Australia – LED by a fast-paced century from Captain Chris Gayle, West Indies were able to begin their limited overs tour of Australia on the right foot earlier today (Feb. 4) as they defeated the young Prime Minister’s XI side by 90 runs.
West Indies has lost a number of key players to injury and other issues in the lead up to this tour, but that did little to diminish the strong team spirit that was built late last year in the Test series against Australia.
Gayle, who has been in Australia since the Test series to train and play Twenty20 with Western Australia, was happy to display his keen batting power after promising Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a good show before the match.
Paired with opener Travis Dowlin, who is quickly proving quite reliable in the number two position, Gayle bled the hosts quickly and thoroughly as he reached his half-century in 23 balls and his century in 57.
The Captain’s desire to display his prowess in the crease was evidenced by the three straight fours he hit at the start of the game. Gayle would eventually tally 14 fours and eight sixes before he was finally caught out by Matthew Hayden at mid-wicket off of a ball from 18-year-old Alex Keath.
Adding to Gayle’s 146 were Dowlin and Lendl Simmons, who also batted well with 72 from 85 and 70 from 49, respectively.
Simmons closed the day out with wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin as West Indies reached the intimidating total of 399/5 from their 45 overs, which was reduced from 50 due to rain.
Though they had almost no hope succeeding in their chase, the young host side gave a very respectable reply of 312/7 from their overs.
Prime Minister’s XI was led by the tenacious batting of New South Wales right-hander Tom Cooper, whose 160/not out kept the match competitive throughout. Cooper tallied 14 fours and 6 sixes from the 120 balls he faced.
Unfortunately, he did not receive a lot of support from his teammates, with the second highest Australian batsman being fellow opener Tim Paine with 36.
Nikita Miller was the heart of the West Indies’ bowling, collecting 3 for 51 as he effectively collapsed the middle order. Darren Sammy also had a decent day with 2 for 37 from six overs.
Prior to the match, a minute of silence was observed for the many victims of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on January 12. The players from both teams and the match officials also wore blue ribbons in memoriam of the lives lost.
The first of five One Day International matches between West Indies and Australia will begin this Sunday (Feb. 7) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
