Bailey, Starc, Maxwell Combine To Put Australia 2-0 Up

Bailey, Starc, Maxwell Combine To Put Australia 2-0 Up

George Bailey was in scintillating form, hitting 125 not out as Australia beat the West Indies in the second ODI in Perth

©REUTERS / Action Images

Australia 266-7 (Bailey 125no) beat
West Indies 212 (Starc 5-32) by 54 runs
Second One-Day International, Perth
Scorecard
Report by John Pennington

The West Indies won't be able to leave Perth quick enough after Australia handed them a second convincing defeat in three days to go 2-0 up in their five-match One-Day International series.

A maiden ODI century for George Bailey helped the hosts reach 266 for seven despite no other player passing 39 and five wickets from Mitchell Starc saw the West Indies dismissed for 212 in reply.

Glenn Maxwel would have been unaware that he had just become a cricketing millionaire in the IPL auction in Chennai and he backed up his new status with four wickets, although Sunil Narine thumped him for four sixes in as many balls as the West Indies launched a late, but ultimately futile, comeback.

Kieran Powell registered a maiden ODI century in making 83 and Dwayne Bravo made 45 but such contributions were not enough for the tourists, who now need to win all three remaining matches to clinch a series win - a turn of events that is already looking beyond them.

They started this game well enough, Australia struggling early on as Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy and Bravo took a wicket apiece by dismissing Aaron Finch (11), Usman Khawaja (3), Phillip Hughes (21) and Michael Clarke (16).

Then Bailey came into his own, first adding 37 with Matthew Wade, who fell for 16 to Narine and seeing Maxwell fall for a golden duck to Sammy to leave Australia in trouble at 98 for six.

He finally found an ally in James Faulkner, who contributed 39 to a seventh-wicket partnership of exactly 100 as Bailey cut loose. Faulkner faced 67 balls, hitting three fours before he was caught by Powell off Sammy.

Nothing was going to stop Bailey though, and with Mitchell Johnson (16 not out) in at nine, he was able to play through the innings, not only reaching a maiden ODI century but topping his previous best in all one-day cricket, finishing on an excellent 125 not out in 110 balls, hitting 10 fours and four sixes.

Sammy finished with three for 48.

Starc, who had ripped through the West Indies in the opening game when they were dismissed for a paltry 70, threatened to do the same again as he trapped Chris Gayle (4), Ramnaresh Sarwan (0) and Darren Bravo (14) in front to reduce the men in maroon to 33 for three.

Powell and the elder Bravo then took the score along to 159, Powell playing aggressively and Bravo no less belligerently, facing 56 balls, four of which went to the boundary and two over it.

He fell to IPL's newest million-dollar man Maxwell and when Powell followed seven runs later - trapped in front by Starc - the West Indies looked like this was a task too far needing another 101 to win in 20 overs with their all-rounders to come.

In a Twenty20 International, such a feat wouldn't be beyond messieurs Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Devon Thomas, but needing to come in and hit at five runs an over on this occasion, they weren't up to it.

Maxwell removed Pollard for one, Starc grabbed his fifth by having Thomas caught behind and Sammy made eight before becoming Maxwell's next victim.

Then Narine launched a one-man assault on Maxwell, hitting him for four sixes off the first four balls of one over. They were his only scoring strokes and he failed to emulate Herschelle Gibbs when he was stumped off a wide for 24 in six balls.

The final wicket fell, off the first ball of the 39th over, when Holder was run out, aptly enough, by two of Australia's stars, Bailey and Maxwell.

The third match is on Wednesday (6th February) in Canberra.

© Cricket World 2013