Lara praises Windies record-stoppers

Captain Brian Lara has said West Indies had exceeded all of their expectations in putting an end to Australia’s 21-match winning streak in Trinidad. The Caribbean side downed the tourists by 39 runs in the fifth One-Day International, although Australia still hold a 4-1 lead with two matches remaining. “We met and exceeded all our targets today. To beat such a great team is very, very special,” said Lara. What they have achieved is historic. All cricket aficionados will remember that for a very long time.” The previous record of 11 consecutive wins was held by Clive Lloyd’s West Indies side of 1984-85.

It took a 178-run partnership between Lara and Wavell Hinds — the West Indies’ second-highest one-day stand against Australia — to set up a winning total of 290. Brisk innings from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels maintained the momentum and the duo later shared three wickets as Australia were restricted to 251. “It was a great team performance,” Lara went on. “We got a good total, myself and Wavell batted very well and set up the game for Sarwan and Samuels and we bowled really tight.”  There was plenty to celebrate for the Windies on Sunday. “Number three is the right position to bat for me — you have a lot more overs and I’m accustomed to batting through the innings and today it showed.”

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said he was disappointed to see the streak end, but proud of his side’s achievement. “The more I think about the more unbelievable I think it is,” he went on. “I’m really proud and happy with what the players have done and how they have gone about it. I’d like to think that it is a record that will stand for a very long time.” Ponting identified three early wickets, two of which fell to Corey Collymore, as the turning point in the match. “Full credit to the West Indies,” he said. “They played really well, they batted well and then took three early wickets with the new ball where probably the match changed.” The teams now move to Grenada, where the final two matches are on Friday and Sunday.