Australia completed a 5-0 sweep of the West Indies in their T20I series with Ben Dwarshuis’s bowling paving the way for a three-wicket victory in Basseterre, Saint Kitts on Monday.
Mitchell Owen top-scored for Australia with 37 off 17 balls, while Cameron Green (32), Tim David (30) and Aaron Hardie (28*) all made valuable contributions as the visitors reached their target of 171 with 18 balls to spare.
The win sealed the first T20I series sweep by an Australian men’s team in the West Indies.
“I didn’t expect 5-0 at the start of the series,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said. “But we played some great cricket. It was something we spoke about after the fourth game.
“We knew no Australian team had completed a clean sweep. We’ve had guys come in and played different roles for us.
“We spoke pre-tour about having flexibility and fluidity as a group. The way T20I is going teams just keep going now and it’s exciting, and hopefully we can continue our power hitting”.
West Indies fans must have feared the worst when Australia won a fifth straight toss and bowled the hosts out for 170, a total they reached thanks in large part to Shimron Hetmyer’s knock of 52 off 31 balls.
Dwarshuis picked up Hetmyer’s wicket as well as those of openers Brandon King (11) and Shai Hope (9).
“It was a little bit of a slower wicket so we tried to hit the wicket hard and use the slower balls as well,” said Dwarshuis, who was named player of the match.
“It was definitely a challenge here with two batting line-ups that were ultra-aggressive and some high scores. It was amazing to be part of this squad and this series victory.”
Australia return home for a limited-overs series against South Africa, while the West Indies play Pakistan in three T20Is and three ODIs.