Sport News

Clark and Lee inspire Australia

category: Cricket

27.05.2008 00:26

Stuart Clark took five wickets to help Australia win the first Test against West Indies by 95 runs.

Chasing 287, West Indies were ripped apart by Clark and fellow paceman Brett Lee as the hosts fell for 191.

Resuming on 46-1 on the fifth day, West Indies lost skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan and opener Devon Smith early and slumped to 117-6 at lunch.

Denesh Ramdin and Darren Sammy rescued some pride with a partnership of 67 but by then Australia had the game won.

Seamer Clark finished with figures of 5-32, his best Test performance.

Clark made the early inroads by dismissing Sarwan for 12 and Smith for 28, with neither batsman able to build significantly on their overnight scores.

Dwayne Bravo became Clark's third wicket of the morning - and the fourth of an impressive second innings - when he spooned a catch to Mitchell Johnson to head back to the pavilion for a duck.

And Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who hit a century in the first innings despite being flattened by a Lee bouncer, could not repeat the feat this time.

He managed just nine before he was caught and bowled by Lee, who was unlucky not to pick up the wicket of Ramdin as well when wicket-keeper Brad Haddin just failed to hold on to a diving catch.

The missed chance threatened to frustrate the tourists as Ramdin and Sammy halted the steady flow of wickets with some determined batting.

Ramdin, though, was eventually run out for 36 and the break-up of the partnership sealed the Windies' fate.

The impressive Clark struck again to remove Sammy lbw for 35 and even though Daren Powell cracked six fours on his way to 27, spinner Stuart MacGill claimed the final two wickets in successive balls to seal victory.

MacGill had Powell caught behind, while Amit Jaggernauth (0) was held by Phil Jaques at short leg.

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