Having taken Australia into the triangular series final with the bat, Mitchell Marsh ensured a tournament-winning victory over the West Indies by delivering with the ball.
Marsh's emergence as a performer under pressure was a major positive of Australia's otherwise workman-like defeat of West Indies and the already vanquished South Africa, making it fitting that he landed the decisive blows against a doughty home side.
A spell of 3 for 6 featured the wickets of Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Johnson Charles in successive overs, breaking the back of the West Indies chase and leaving too much for their heavy-hitting lower order to do. Josh Hazlewood followed up with five wickets of his own, the finishing touch arriving with a typically mercurial catch by Glenn Maxwell.
Australia also owed much to the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who muscled his way to a half-century with the tail that atoned for earlier wasted starts by the top order, while also reaffirming his place in the team. Wade's late hitting stretched the total to 270 when at one point 240 looked more likely.
The hosts, ranked eighth in this format, were only given an outside chance of making it to the last match, ahead of the tournament, but they ended with as many wins as top-ranked side Australia after defeating the Proteas by 100 runs.
At 21 for 4 in the fifth over, West Indies looked out of the reckoning but Darren Bravo’s third ODI century (102 in 103 balls, 12 4s, four 6s ) led the recovery after Kagiso Rabada’s searing opening spell. Bravo and Kieron Pollard (62 in 71 balls, seven 4s, two 6s) who scored a ninth ODI fifty, shared a record 156-run stand for the fifth wicket to drive West Indies to 285.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Serious doubts were hanging over the career of former West Indies vice-captain Kirk Edwards, after he was overlooked in the recent player draft for the upcoming WICB Professional Cricket League season.
The 31-year-old, who has scored 986 runs from 17 Tests, was entered in the player pool but was ignored by all six franchises, including Jamaica Scorpions, which he represented last season.
Significantly, he was also snubbed by his home territory, Barbados Pride, which he has captained in the past.
Bridgetown, BARBADOS – Patrons who purchased tickets for the ODI match on Sunday, June 19 between South Africa and Australia in the Tri-Nation series, which only had one over played, and was subsequently rained out, can get refunds. The following are the conditions under which patrons can have refunds 1. Customers can opt to exchange their June 19 match tickets for the same category and number of tickets to either the June 24 match or the Finals on June 26 match 2. Online customers will need to go to http://www.kyazoonga.com/WICBRefundExchange to either exchange their tickets or claim a refund. The refunds will happen only 10 days after the Finals are over 3. Tickets can be entirely exchanged or entirely refunded. Partial exchanges will not be allowed 4. Customers who purchased tickets from the box office will need to go to the box office right away with their physical tickets/ticket stubs to get it exchanged 5. Refunds will only begin 10 days or so after the Finals on June 26 ends – a separate announcement on the exact timing will be made. Customers who purchased their tickets online and opted for the refund will get a refund back to their accounts directly. Customers who purchased their tickets from the box office will need to come in with the physical ticket in order to get the refund 6. Season ticket buyers who opt for a refund will get a refund which is net of the prorated discount amount for the one day Patrons can still purchase tickets for today’s game between West Indies and South Africa which bowls off at 1:00 pm. South Africa won the toss and will put West Indies to bat. The final will be on Sunday at 1:00 pm at the same venue – Kensington Oval, Barbados.
The future of the ICC Champions Trophy is back in doubt. It is understood that the tournament is highly likely to be scrapped after the 2021 tournament, in India, and could even be abolished after next year’s tournament, in England, should a new ODI league be introduced from 2019.
The Champions Trophy was originally meant to be scrapped after the 2013 edition, but the huge commercial success of that year’s tournament in England led to it being retained, at the expense of the World Test Championship that had been scheduled for 2017.
