Windies collared in tour opener

MELBOURNE: West Indies, playing their first competitive match, since winning the ICC Champions Trophy last September in Britain, suffered a crushing seven-wicket defeat to Victoria in a limited-overs cricket match yesterday. After choosing to bat, Chris Gayle hit the top score of 33 from 23 balls and West Indies were dismissed for 201 in 47.5 overs. In response, Victoria reached their target with 18 overs to spare, with former Australia batsman Matthew Elliott leading the way with 87 and David Hussey scoring five sixes in 83 not out. “The players have played enough international cricket to do better than they did,” West Indies coach Bennett King said.

“Five of our top eight looked like they were in very good form and showed some very good signs, but unforced outs can really cruel you in this game, and that’s what we had. “We were playing a very good side, but again I’d expect a lot better from our bowlers.” West Indies face Australia “A” in Hobart on Saturday and Sunday before their opening match in the three-nation limited-overs series against the hosts at Melbourne next Friday. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next week or so and, with the week leading up to the limited-overs series, we’ve got some good plans in place,” King said.

Gayle took 18 runs from fast bowler Michael Lewis’ second over before he was caught off the same bowler in the fifth over to leave West Indies 43 for one. When Ramnaresh Sarwan was caught behind for seven, West Indies were 60 for two, but the dismissal of Wavell Hinds, caught off Ian Harvey for 22, saw the innings go into a tailspin. The visitors lost six wickets for 63 runs, before Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw, the same pair that carried them to a stunning triumph in the Final of the ICC Champions Trophy, again saved West Indies some blushes with a ninth-wicket stand of 48. Pedro Collins snared the first two Victoria wickets of Brad Hodge for three and Nick Jewell for 16, but a stand of 129 between Elliott and Hussey paved the way for the state side to race to victory.