Australia

The tone of the game may have been different, with Ben Stokes’ side making most of the running across five enthralling days to set up a finish, but the end result was the same as 2017, 2019 and 2021.

Australia held the urn aloft in each of those series, flexing their muscles in matching 4-0 wins on home soil and retaining after a 2-2 draw on tour four years ago.

England will now need to overturn a 1-0 deficit with four games to play, but what should they do to make that happen?

Keep the faith in ‘Bazball’

Defeat against their bitter rivals will hurt, but now is not the time to rip up a playbook that has delivered 11 wins from 14 Test matches under Ben Stokes’ captaincy.

In particular, England have proven that their ultra-aggressive batting style can hurt an Australia attack who hoped they would be immune.

They scored at a rollicking 5.03 an over in the first innings and kept it up at 4.11 on a trickier surface in the second and landed important blows along the way.

Scott Boland went around the park for the first time in his Test career and Joe Root’s reverse ramps will have tested the egos of the Australian quicks.

Fix Moeen’s finger or find a replacement

There was always going to be an element of risk in summoning Moeen Ali out of international retirement when Jack Leach went down with a stress fracture.

The 36-year-old last played first-class cricket almost two years ago and his lack of conditioning came back to haunt England when his right index finger blistered then burst open.

He found it difficult to grip and rip the ball from that point onward and was able to offer just seven overs on day five as part-timer Joe Root picked up the bulk of the work.

If the medical staff are confident they can rectify the situation in the coming days Moeen should get another chance at Lord’s, but if there is a chance of history repeating then Surrey’s Will Jacks looks like the next man in and should be called up.

Dial down the declaration addiction

For the second game in a row England have lost a Test match after declaring eight down in the first innings.

New Zealand edged them by a single run in Wellington back in February and now Australia have snuck across the line.

Stokes’ penchant for calling an early end to his side’s run-scoring has been a fascinating facet of his captaincy and at times has worked brilliantly – including three Tests ago in Mount Maunganui.

But pulling out after just 78 overs, the earliest ever declaration in the Ashes, may have been slightly too radical. Root was racing along on 118 not out and it would not have taken him long to score enough runs to alter the final outcome.

Rally around Bairstow

By choosing to drop Ben Foakes, a player Stokes has frequently described as the best wicketkeeper in world cricket, England opened themselves up to criticism. But with Harry Brook undroppable after a prolific winter and the star performer of 2022, Jonny Bairstow, fit again, Foakes was the fall guy.

Bairstow is an experienced gloveman but put down at least three chances that he would have hoped to take, racking up a tab that his dashing 78 in the first innings did not fully clear.

Those who advocate a Foakes recall at Lord’s can think again, with the squad already announced and Bairstow going nowhere.

For now they need to get behind a player who thrives on confidence and certainty over his role. Neither he nor England can afford any more costly slip-ups, but showing faith might be the best way to avoid them next week.

Let Wood make his mark

One thing England lacked in their XI at Edgbaston was outright pace, a quality Mark Wood brings in abundance. With Jofra Archer and Olly Stone both out injured, he is the only man available who can routinely clear 90mph.

He is best used in short, sharp spells and concerns over Stokes’ ability to share the workload may have played a part in him missing out in the first Test. But on a Lord’s pitch that can play flat, he might be just the tonic.

Wood was England’s most impressive performer Down Under in the 2021-22 Ashes and already has Australia’s respect.

After an unusually quiet outing, record wicket-taker James Anderson could be in line to stand down but it might also be possible to lean on Root’s spin and choose a four-strong pace cartel. Either way, it feels like Wood is a game breaker they cannot afford to overlook.

Chasing a total of 309 runs for victory, on the final day, a win seemed possible when the team entered the final break at 221 for 5, needing another 88 runs to claim victory.

 The West Indies had a less-than-ideal start to the final session, however, and found themselves reduced to 273 for 8, following the dismissals of Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, and then Kemar Roach, in fairly quick succession.

 Raymon Reifer and Joshua Da Silva then combined to help West Indies fight for the draw, playing out the final eight overs to finish on 277 for 8.

“I’m not happy with the results, we should have won it,” Simmons said following the final ball.

“We have a few misplaced wickets in the middle, while we were controlling the game, so that was a disappointment, but at the end of the day the way how the guys fought is always greatly encouraging,” he added.

With the players getting plenty of opportunities to bat and bowl in pressure situations, Simmons was though satisfied with what the tour match provided, ahead of a difficult series.

“The two games have been very good for us, mind you, flattish wickets, but the bowlers got the overs in their legs and the batsmen got their time at the crease so that was good for us.”

After a difficult series loss against South Africa, the West played their way to a 3-0 lead against Australia in a five-match series, before suffering their first loss on Thursday.

Even so, the affair was a closely contested one, with the Windies losing by just four runs in pursuit of the visitor’s target of 189.  So far for the series the West Indies has boasted an average of 167, up from the 157.4 average against South Africa.  

“I think we are getting close to where we want to be.  We are starting to get opening partnerships of 50 and above, we’ll take that any day,” Pooran told members of the media via an online press conference.

“In the middle overs, for the first three games we batted really well, that is something we adjusted.  After the first series we played that situation well, last time we kind of faltered there a little bit,” he added.

“All in all, I think we are getting there.  You can see in the end now Fabian Allen coming in to bat with Polly out, he’s played that role wonderfully for us and can actually lengthen our batting and we can depend more on Allen.  So from a standing captain's point of view, I believe we are getting there.”

Australia enjoyed a dream start when Scott Boland scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day, leaving India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand, but despite creating plenty of chances that was the only breakthrough of the session.

Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green and David Warner all put down chances to allow a century stand between Ajinkya Rahane (89no) and Shardul Thakur (36no) to shore up India on 260 for six at lunch, a deficit of 209.

Captain Pat Cummins also erred, denied a possible wicket for the second time in the innings due to a front-foot no-ball. He had Rahane lbw for 17 on day two, only for replays to show he had overstepped, and he saw history repeating itself just before the break when he had Thakur given out after being struck on the knee-roll.

Umpire Richard Kettleborough immediately raised his finger, much to Australia’s relief, but a DRS review showed Cummins had once again failed to get anything behind the line.

Boland, pushing hard to retain his place for next week’s Ashes opener at Edgbaston, started superbly as he ripped his second delivery through a small gap between Bharat’s bat and pad and straight into middle.

Had Thakur’s thick edge been held by Khawaja in the cordon four balls later, India may well have struggled to come back from it. Instead the ball squirmed out of his fingertips and the battle continued.

Thakur needed plenty of bravery to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove.

Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.

With Thakur in a state of almost permanent danger, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century.

He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.

On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after seeing the ball pop out and land safe.

A handful of boundaries took the partnership into three figures as India began to have some fun, while Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw his lbw against Thakur overturned by the no-ball call.

The West Indies Women, on seven points from their seven games, following no-result against South Africa on Wednesday, March 23, needed either Bangladesh to defeat England or South Africa to defeat India for them to advance.

England crushed Bangladesh by 100 runs earlier Saturday, which meant that the West Indies Women were dependent on a positive result from the South Africa versus India encounter.

The situation looked grim when India posted 274-7 in their 50 overs thanks to half centuries of 71 from Smriti Mandhana, 53 from Shafali Verma, 68 from Captain Mithali Raj as well as Harmanpreet Kaur's 48.

However, Laura Woolvardt smashed 80, Laura Goodall scored 49 and Mignon du Preez an unbeaten 52 as South Africa scored 275-7, the winning run coming off the last ball of the match.

The South African victory set off wild celebrations among the West Indies Women, whose members had gathered to watch the match.

They will now face unbeaten Australia in the semi-final on Tuesday.

New Zealand face Australia in a three-match ODI series starting on Tuesday in Cairns, Queensland, looking to end a 13-year search for a 50-over win in the country.

They will do so without a key player in the form of Colin de Grandhomme, who last week announced his international retirement.

De Grandhomme's decision came after he had taken up an offer to play for the  Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, which clashed with his New Zealand duties.

Trent Boult, the world's best ODI bowler who has taken 36 per cent of the Black Caps' wickets when he has played in the format in 2022, is another player who has been released from his New Zealand Cricket central contract.

Paceman Boult is included in the 15-man squad to face Aaron Finch's side, but this year's T20 World Cup might well prove the 33-year-old's swansong on the international stage.

Williamson himself is no stranger to playing in lucrative competitions such as the Indian Premier League, having featured for Sunrisers Hyderabad since 2015.

However, the 32-year-old has no plans to call time on his New Zealand career as he aims to end a seven-match losing streak against Australia in the 50-over game.

"It's a tricky one because it is changing - so much seems to have happened so quickly," Williamson told reporters. "It does seem to be a movement in the landscape of the game.

"Every case is unique and every case has got their individual needs at different stages of their lives.

"There are a lot of different franchise events happening and seeing players make decisions on their playing careers, it suggests that there is a balance to strike and some things to work through.

"At the moment I'm very much here and looking to do my very best for the team. I love being involved in this environment."

The series is the first between the two rivals – who faced off in last year's T20 World Cup final – since the start of 2020, with only one match played on that occasion before New Zealand's team travelled home with borders closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is not set to be another bilateral ODI series between the nations for the next four years.

While they have not lost an ODI on home soil to New Zealand since 2009, Australia will be looking to avoid back-to-back defeats at home for the first time since January 2019, following their shock three-wicket reverse at the hands of Zimbabwe last week, though they did at least win that series 2-1.

Finch's cause for concern

Australia's World Cup-winning captain is not in fine fettle. He scored just 21 runs across three innings against Zimbabwe and is going up against a fearsome bowling attack this time out.

Finch's record against New Zealand is nothing to shout about, either, with his 17.2 average from 10 ODIs the worst against any nation in the format. With the World Cup just around the corner, he will be desperate to hit his stride.

"Across his career, it's ebbed and flowed. His movement patterns sometimes early in his innings are compromised, whether that's through perceived pressure that he puts on himself or what the bowler does," head coach Andrew McDonald said of Finch's form. "We are working through it. He's working hard on his game."

Southee chasing a milestone

New Zealand have won nine of their 10 ODIs in 2022 (L1) – only Scotland (W12) and India (W11) have won more games this year.

In Boult and Southee, they have a brilliant bowling duo. The latter is three wickets away from becoming the fifth Black Cap to take 200 in the format, while if he achieves that in Tuesday's opener (his 147th ODI) he will be the second-quickest player to the landmark (after Kyle Mills – 135 matches).

Already missing Trent Boult due to his fractured hand, New Zealand were dealt further blows as Williamson, Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner all fell victim to a virus that has swept their camp.

Tom Latham captained the tourists in Williamson's absence, while Glenn Phillips was handed a Test debut having only arrived in Sydney as cover the previous evening.

The Black Caps' other changes saw Jeet Raval, Will Somerville, Todd Astle and Matt Henry included, with Tim Southee the fifth player to drop out of the line-up from the last Test.

"It's been a tough 48 hours for us," said Latham at the toss. "We've had a bit of sickness and a virus that has gone through the team, which is unfortunate.

"Obviously Kane and Henry are down and Mitch Santner is down, those guys gave their best chance this morning to be right but unfortunately they're not right."

The loss of Williamson represented a particularly tough break for New Zealand, with the 29-year-old averaging 51 in Tests and having made 21 centuries from 78 appearances.

Australia, who won the toss and opted to bat, were unchanged, with Nathan Lyon continuing as the sole frontline spinner despite the call-up of the uncapped Mitchell Swepson.

The hosts are seeking a 3-0 series sweep after comfortably winning the first two Tests in Perth and Melbourne.

Despite missing a few big faces, West Indies managed to sweep the series, and that along with the rise in rankings should provide a significant boost to the confidence of the Darren Sammy-coached side heading into the June 1-29 showpiece to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.

With the series win, West Indies (254 rating points), the champions of the 2012 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup, are at the fourth place in the list led by 2007 champions India (264 rating points), with 2021 champions Australia (257 rating points) and defending champions England (254 rating points) at the second and third place respectively.

There were individual bright spots for West Indies in the series, who gained substantially in the T20I Player Rankings. This included stand-in skipper Brandon King, whose 159 runs helped him jump up five places to the eighth position in the Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.

His opening partner, Johnson Charles, who hit a blistering 69 from 26 balls in a Player of the Match performance in the third game of the series, gained 17 spots to reach the 20th place.

Meanwhile, Kyle Mayers (31st place in Batting Rankings) and Gudakesh Motie (27th place in Bowling Rankings) were the other beneficiaries from the recently concluded series.

These results bode well for the Men in Maroon, who will be looking for a record third title during their home T20 World Cup. They are placed in Group C along Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda.

They start their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Guyana on Sunday.

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

India -264 points

Australia - 257 points

England - 254 points

West Indies  - 252 points

New Zealand  - 250 points

Matthews, the number one-ranked ICC Women's T20I all-rounder put together a remarkable series of performances last year, as she racked up 700 runs in the year, the most by any player in a year in Women's T20Is. She also picked up 19 wickets at an average of 16.21 in a mere 14 matches for the year.

The 25-year-old Barbadian is up against three high-class players, with, England’s Sophie Ecclestone, the top ranked T20 international bowler, Australia’s Ellyse Perry, and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu also nominated.

Matthews’ stellar display against Australia in a bilateral T20I series in the second half of the year, was one for the ages. During that series, she posted scores of an unbeaten 99, 132 and 79, as she proved to be a thorn to the Australian side.

Matthews’ extraordinary unbeaten 99 in the first game of the series was overshadowed by her mind-blowing 132 in a run-chase of 213 in Sydney. The world-record run-chase in women's T20Is saw Matthews break several records, including that of the highest individual score in a women’s T20I run-chase.

Her overall tally of 310 runs in the series is the most by any player in a women's T20I bilateral series. Matthews also enjoyed good form in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, where she tallied 130 runs and took four wickets and four catches.

The hard-hitting Matthews produced a match-winning performance in a tight encounter against Ireland at the T20 World Cup. In that contest, she picked up four wickets and made a 34-ball 48, but her remarkable 132 against Australia overshadowed it all.

Having taken three wickets for 36 runs with the ball as Australia made a whopping 212, West Indies were faced with a daunting task in the run-chase, but nothing could have prepared anyone for Matthews’ innings.

She hit two fours and a six in the 17th over of the run-chase to raise her century off just 53 balls, and then clubbed Jess Jonassen for four fours in a row in the 19th over to bring the equation down to eight runs needed off six balls.

While Matthews was dismissed in the over, she had set the stage for one of the most outrageous women's T20I wins of all-time with her blistering 132 off just 64 balls. The innings was studded with 20 fours and five sixes, as 110 of her 132 runs came in boundaries.

Meanwhile, the men’s T20 shortlist includes 2022 winner Suryakumar Yadav of India, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani – who helped his side qualify for their first ever World Cup.

Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand), compete for the men’s emerging player.

Nominees for Test and ODI awards will be released later this week.

Despite the high of coming off a dominant T20I series, the Windies were crushed by 133 runs, via the DLS method.  Batting first, Australia made 259 for 9 but in response, the West Indies could only muster 123 all out and were at one stage, 27 for 6.

For his part, Pollard, who only just returned to the team, made a battling 56.  In an innings where four batsmen were dismissed without scoring, the captain could have used more of that grit from the rest of the team.

“I was disappointed with our overall batting performance, not being able to chase down 250 from the position that we were in,” Pollard told members of the media.

“I didn’t think we showed enough fight or enough courage.  They are going to come hard at us, it’s an experienced bowling attack that they have so we need to fight as a team and as individuals when we go out there.”

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the dangerman for the tourists after ending with figures of 5 for 48.

The schedule for the tournament in the United Arab Emirates and Oman was confirmed on Tuesday, with the final taking place in Dubai on November 14.

Pakistan and India will do battle in their opening Super12 Group 2 match at 6 pm local time.

New Zealand will get their bid for glory underway against Pakistan in Sharjah two days later, while Afghanistan begin their campaign on 25 October against a qualifier

Holders West Indies play England in a repeat of the dramatic 2016 final in debut on October 23, the same day as Group 1 rivals Australia face South Africa in Abu Dhabi.

The opening game of the competition will see co-hosts Oman come up against Papua New Guinea in Group B on October 17, with Scotland and Bangladesh in action on the same day.

The first semi-final will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and the second will be staged in Dubai the following day.

West Indies T20 World Cup schedule 

23 October

 England  vs   West Indies

 Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

 26 October

South Africa  vs West Indies

 Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

29 October

West Indies  vs B2

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

4 November
  West Indies   A1

Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

 6 November

Australia  vs West Indies

Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
  

Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.

The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.

Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.

From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.

West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.

 “We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.

“That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.

West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.

Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.

“Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.

The U-19 Windies, who won the title in 2016, are off to a strong start at the current edition of the tournament after notching wins over Australia, England, and Nigeria.  The team’s latest win, a dominant 246 runs win over their African opponents, ensured that the Windies were top of group B.

According to the CWI president, the team’s strong showing, which has taken many by surprise, is no accident.

“This administration promised that we would invest more seriously and in a more focussed and strategic way on our youth cricket and this Under-19 team is an example of what we set about to do immediately – to give them the best possible preparation going into this World Cup,” Skerritt said recently.

“They have achieved already way beyond the expectations of most people.  They beat Australia, they beat England. We are going to hope and pray that they continue on the path of improvement and performing at their best and whatever the end result of this World Cup is for them they would have made the Caribbean people extremely proud.”

The Windies and Aussies have become fierce competitors over the last two editions of the tournament.  The regional team made international headlines after stunning the heavily favoured Australians at the 2016 edition in India, to claim their first world title.

The Australians, however, returned the favour by beating the West Indies in the semifinals of the tournament, in the Caribbean in 2018, before going on to claim a fourth title.  In five days’ time, the Australians will begin a campaign they hope will culminate in them claiming a fifth on their home soil.   Mohammed believes it is the perfect opportunity for the Windies to play spoilers.

 "We've come to win this World Cup and take it back from Australia," Mohammed, whose 118 wickets makes her the most successful T20I bowler of all time, told ICC Cricket.

"It would be nice to spoil the party. They spoiled ours, so it would be nice to return the favour,” she added.

"Australia have been doing really well. They recently played in the tri-series and came out on top, but we've been working hard ourselves.”

The Windies will begin the tournament against Thailand on Saturday, with defending champions Australia bowling things off on the previous day.

Woakes had previously been a doubt for the October-November tournament due to knee surgery, while Wood required an operation on his elbow.

But both men have made Jos Buttler's 15-man group for the World Cup and the prior three-match tour of Australia.

Woakes and Wood were also included in a larger travelling party for the September tour of Pakistan, which was also confirmed on Friday.

Chris Jordan and Liam Livingstone, who have respective finger and ankle injuries, will skip that series as they have been granted more time to recuperate, but both are still on course to feature at the World Cup.

Stokes – still engaged in a Test series against South Africa – also will not face Pakistan but will make the World Cup, returning to Twenty20 International cricket for the first time since March 2021.

Since then, Stokes has taken a break from cricket to look after his mental health, returned as Test skipper and retired from ODIs to help manage his workload.

The plan was always for Stokes to still feature at this year's T20 World Cup, and he is indeed involved.

Limited-overs captain Buttler is another whose fitness will be assessed carefully, however, with a calf problem meaning Moeen Ali will deputise as skipper for the start of the Pakistan series.

The squad for that tour includes five new faces in Jordan Cox, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Olly Stone and Luke Wood.

England squad for T20 World Cup and Australia series:

Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Travelling reserves:

Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Tymal Mills (Sussex).

England squad for Pakistan series:

Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Jordan Cox (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Will Jacks (Surrey), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Luke Wood (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Opener Alick Athanaze with a 60-ball 32, was the only batsman to offer any real resistance as West Indies were embarrassingly bowled out for 86 in 24.1 overs, their fifth lowest ODI score. Only Keacy Carty (12) and Roston Chase (10) were the other double figure scores in the dismal innings.

Still, Australia, playing their 1,000th ODI, the second nation to do so after India, were almost flawless following comprehensive victories in Melbourne and Sydney.

Xavier Bartlett, like he did in the first contest, again starred with the ball, as he ended with four wickets for 21 runs, after which openers Josh Inglish and Jake Fraser-McGurk raced toward the low target by smashing 67 runs within five overs, and laid the foundation for the hosts to complete their eight-wicket victory with 43.1 overs to spare in what was the shortest men's ODI ever played in Australia.

The match lasted just 31 overs and was completed in three hours, including the innings break.

Australia 87 for 2 (Fraser-McGurk 41, Inglis 35*) beat West Indies 86 (Bartlett 4-21) by eight wickets

Inglis raced to 22 off seven deliveries, as he played gorgeous orthodox shots, but was quickly overtaken by Fraser-McGurk, who muscled three sixes in four balls off seamer Matthew Forde.

Fraser-McGurk was on track for a rapid half-century, but holed out to mid-on to end his 18-ball 41 and dashed Australia's hopes for a 10-wicket win.

Aaron Hardie made just two before Australia passed the target after 6.5 overs.

Earlier, Steven Smith's decision to bowl first was aided by a shoddy West Indies effort with a number of batters dismissed in tame fashion.

Following his stunning four-wicket debut at the MCG, Bartlett was immediately on the money with the new ball, as he had opener Kjorn Ottley trapped in front in his second over.

Athanaze and Carty held firm as West Indies' fortunes momentarily seemed to turn, and they eyed a decent total on the traditionally batting-friendly Manuka Oval surface.

West Indies avoided the early collapses that marred their opening two games, but the introduction of Lance Morris in the 11th over soon left them in familiar woe.

Morris had his first international wicket when Carty was brilliantly caught by a flying Marnus Labuschagne at backward point. Captain Shai Hope unsuccessfully reviewed a leg-before-wicket decision off Sean Abbott in the next over, before Morris clean bowled debutant Teddy Bishop with a searing full delivery that rattled the stumps.

Athanaze held the innings together until he threw away his wicket with a rash sweep stroke against leg-spinner Adam Zampa that was caught at deep backward square.

Smith went on the attack and brought back Bartlett, who on his first delivery nicked off Romario Shepherd.

West Indies' woeful performance was summed up with a comical run out of Forde, who bickered with batting partner Roston Chase on his way off, as their 27-year ODI drought against Australia in Australia continues.

There will also be a reserve day on June 12 if necessary as the top two Test sides do battle to see who will lift the mace as world Test champions.

Those two teams are yet to be finalised, although Australia currently top the rankings while India, who they meet in a four-Test series starting on February 9, are second.

Sri Lanka and South Africa sit third and fourth respectively, with the latter set to take on reigning champions New Zealand in a two-Test series in February.

England are in hot pursuit in fifth after winning eight of their past nine Test matches, while West Indies also have a slim chance of making the final.

New Zealand's hopes of retaining the title they claimed by beating India by eight wickets in Southampton in 2021 are already over, having won just two Test matches since that famous victory.

The fast bowler announced himself to the cricketing world five years ago, with an inspired display helping England to World Cup glory.

However, a string of injury issues - notably stress fractures in his right elbow and back - has seen his appearances limited and prevented him from truly building on that momentum.

Nevertheless, throughout his rehabilitation, England have stuck by Archer, who said he was hurt by the widespread criticism he received during his absence, handing him a fresh two-year contract in the latter part of 2023.

The 29-year-old hopes to repay that faith during the T20 World Cup in his native West Indies, where the reigning champions resume their title defence against Australia on Saturday.

"Sometimes, you feel like a burden not playing," he said. "I've seen a few comments as well, people saying, 'He's on the longest paid holiday I've ever seen'.

"You try not to let it get to you, but you can ignore 100 of them and then sometimes the 101st is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"I found it a little worrying, not about my body, just the external stuff. I've changed a lot of my social media stuff just so you don't see a lot, but there's a little that always filters through. You've just got to keep going.

"I've got a PDF file of every single game I'm supposed to play from now until next summer, they've really planned out almost everything.

"Probably the only thing they haven't planned out is the showers I take! Even when I wasn't playing, they gave me targets that I'd keep trying to tick off, and it's really nice that they're actually falling into place."

The relatively inexperienced India team ended a 32-year unbeaten run for the Aussies on the back of a stellar innings from Rishabh Pant.  The team’s performance broke Australian hearts, and records as well, with the mammoth target of 328 runs representing the highest ever successful runs chase at the venue.  It was achieved with 3 wickets remaining.

Heading into the series as huge underdogs, the team owed a large part of the victory to resilience, Shubman Gill's crucial 91 and the dogged determination of Cheteshwar Pujara who faced 211 deliveries and 10 body blows to defend the Border-Gavaskar trophy on a dramatic final day.

For, Mohammed, who will lead a hastily assembled and likewise inexperienced squad against Bangladesh, starting on Wednesday, there is plenty about the India performance to draw encouragement from.

“It’s obviously something we will look to.  It depends on the day and how you play,” Mohammed told members of the media via a press conference call on Tuesday.

“A lot of the guys will be making their debut, but once you have that belief and belief within the team that you can do well and that you can win games then these things are achievable and it showed in the India versus Australia series,” he added.

“We have the same mindset.  We are just looking to play some good cricket starting tomorrow and hopefully, the results will be on our side as well.”

Jayden Seales did the damage with the ball to hustle Australia out for 179 and Young’s measured innings in reply saw West Indies to victory with 24 balls to spare of their Group B opener.

Young was the matchwinner for the Windies with a priceless 61 from 69 balls just as Australia were bearing down on his side’s tail.

"It's good to get a win," Young said. “It doesn’t matter the opponent, but it is good to get it against Australia. I am happy to get it across the line, and I think it shows how we fight with the ball and the bat.”

Australia batted first and were bowled out for just 179. Jake Fraser-McGurk fought a lone battle, with a defiant 84 from 97 balls at the top of the order.

Wickets tumbled around him though as Seales (four for 49) and Matthew Forde (three for 24) ran riot. Patrick Rowe struck 40 to give the young Aussies a sniff, but 179 was well below par.

Windies slipped to 92 for five in the chase, thanks chiefly to a fine spell of leg-spin bowling by Tanveer Sangha whose promise has already seen him feature in the Big Bash League.

His four for 30 ran the Windies desperately close, and they breathed a sigh of relief when his allocation came to an end.

Beyond the mystery of Sangha, West Indies found comfort through Young's mature knock and got home with three overs and as many wickets to spare.