Australia has won its ODI series against the West Indies in two games after Sean Abbott starred with bat, ball and in the field in an 83-run victory at the SCG.
West Indies had a chance to replicate their upset win from last month’s second Test when they won the toss and consigned Australia to 4-89 by the 16th over on Sunday.
But number eight Abbott pulled the hosts back from the brink with the best score of his international career, cracking 69 off 63 balls.
On a wicket assisting the Windies’ spinners, the 31-year-old propelled Australia to 9-258 before 20,025 fans — a slightly healthier crowd than that at the sparsely-attended MCG series opener.
Bowling all-rounder Abbott (3-40) was similarly instrumental after the innings break as Australia skittled West Indies for 175 in the 44th over of an innings that was at times painfully slow.
West Indies fell to 3-34 after a full-length ball from Abbott drew an edge behind from Kjorn Ottley (8), who was brought in after the tourists struggled with the bat at the MCG.
Keacy Carty (40), West Indies’ danger man at the MCG, fell in similar fashion to become Abbott’s second scalp.
Abbott took two catches on the run — neither one a sitter — to help dispatch opener Alick Athanaze (11) and then Romario Shepherd (6).
After the second of those catches, Australia were into West Indies’ tail on their way to victory.
Called in for the second match of the series, veteran quick Josh Hazlewood (3-43) was effective in his first ODI since last year’s World Cup triumph.
He broke the only significant partnership of West Indies’ innings, a 53-run stand between captain Shai Hope and Carty, when he bowled the former with an in-swinger that crashed into off-stump.
On debut, lanky all-rounder Will Sutherland took 2-28.
The only sour note for Australia came as hamstring tightness prevented Matt Short, who scored a handy 41, from being able to field.
He will be monitored ahead of the third match in Canberra on Tuesday.
Earlier, highly-rated debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk was dismissed on only the fifth ball of Australia’s innings in a sign of the chaos to come.
Replacing the rested Travis Head at the top, Fraser-McGurk (10) hit Alzarri Joseph (2-74) down the ground for four, past square leg for six, and then to wicketkeeper Hope through an outside edge.
Cameron Green (33) looked the most comfortable of the top-order batters before being caught at mid on.
At first drop, he reignited the innings with three successive fours off Joseph, who had dismissed both Josh Inglis (9) and Fraser-McGurk (10) caught behind as Australia fell to 2-21.
Spinner Gudakesh Motie (3-28) tore through the middle order and was the pick of West Indies’ bowlers, enticing Aaron Hardie (26) into skying to mid on and removing Short caught-and-bowled.
It was only Abbott who was able to make a serious fist of things.
He blasted four of the eight sixes of an Australian innings that had struggled for momentum, and that had featured only two boundaries between the 27th and 45th overs.
By the time Shepherd bowled Abbott in the penultimate over, Australia were well on their way to a defendable total.
AAP