Australia seal series sweep, Windies sink to painful low
Australia sealed their first-ever 5-0 sweep of a T20 series with a three-wicket win
Australia have cruised to their first ever five-nil series sweep in the T20 format with a three-wicket victory over West Indies in the fifth match in St Kitts.
Contributions from Mitch Owen (37), player-of-the-series Cameron Green (32), Tim David (30) and Aaron Hardie (28no) saw Australia complete their eight-game Caribbean tour unbeaten with wins in all three Tests and five T20 internationals.
Ben Dwarshuis (3-41) earlier did the damage with the ball to keep West Indies to 170 all out before Hardie's unbeaten knock took Australia to their target with three overs to spare to sink the hosts to a new low.
West Indies have now been swept in their past two bilateral T20 series at home after losing all three matches to Bangladesh last December, which follows being whitewashed at home for the first time in a Test series of three or more matches earlier in the tour.
The hosts had Australia in a precarious position early in the chase as double strikes by Jason Holder (2-36) and Alzarri Joseph (2-21) left the visitors 4-60 while still inside the Powerplay.
But the power of Green (32 off 18) and Mitch Owen, who hit three fours and three sixes in his 17-ball knock, quickly had the required rate under a run-a-ball as the pair turned the momentum with a 63-run fifth-wicket stand in just 4.4 overs.
Akeal Hosein (3-17) struck twice to remove both set batters to keep the home fans interested, with Owen's thick edge finding short third before Green skied a lofted off drive trying to take the left-armer over the grandstand.
But the damage had been done earlier, allowing Hardie to tick off the required runs in singles and lift Australia to a third series whitewash victory in their past four bilateral T20 campaigns after beating both Scotland and Pakistan 3-0 last year.
"We played some really good cricket across the board, I probably didn't expect to win five-nil – West Indies we've got a lot of respect for," Aussie captain Mitch Marsh told cricket.com.au post-match.
"T20 cricket there's always those pressure points and in those moments this series we had a range of guys that were really calm under pressure and executed really well.
"We were really well prepared coming into this, we know how much power they've got, they are a really good side, but under pressure we had some really good moments."
Sent in by Marsh for the fifth consecutive match, the hosts again lost wickets regularly as they struggled to 3-49 at the end of the Powerplay with their two top run-scorers for the series – Shai Hope (9) and Brandon King (11) – back in the sheds cheaply.
Dwarshuis, back in the side after being rested for the previous match, struck in his first over as Hope played an in-swinger back onto his stumps, while King couldn't make use of an earlier life from Maxwell as he became the left-armer's second victim.
After taking two fantastic catches as well as a spectacular assist in the fourth T20, Maxwell spilled a relatively straightforward chance off Hardie at mid-on that he immediately indicated to teammates swerved in the air on its way to him.
But the allrounder made amends shortly after to hand Hardie (1-39) his sole wicket of the night as recalled No.3 Keacy Carty skied an attempted slog over the on side that went high but not far, which Maxwell pouched running around to wide mid-on.
Maxwell then removed Sherfane Rutherford (35 off 17 balls) and Jason Holder (20 off 15) edged behind trying to heave Sean Abbott (1-30) over the off-side as the right-armer conceded just two runs in the 13th over while picking up the wicket.
The Windies batters continued to tumble around top scorer Shimron Hetmyer (52) as Nathan Ellis responded to being hit for six by Romario Shepherd (8) by removing the right-hander's off stump next delivery.
Hetmyer got hold of Dwarshuis in a 19-run over to go to a 30-ball half-century but immediately let Australia off the hook when he holed out to Abbott running in from long on next delivery.
Ellis (1-32), who went at an economy of 7.88 for the series – the lowest of any bowler to play more than half the matches – struck again to remove Matthew Forde (15) as he conceded just three runs from the 18th over of the innings.
Adam Zampa celebrated his 100th T20 international by bowling Alzarri Joseph and should have had a second in the over if not for Owen spilling a chance diving forward in the deep, as Ellis wrapped up the innings for 170 with a run out in the last over.
Holder struck with his first ball of the evening to remove Maxwell for the second time in the series as his thick edge carried to Jediah Blades at short third who just hung onto the catch millimetres for the turf on the second attempt.
Maxwell opened for the fourth match in a row but flagged he is set to resume his regular middle order spot with Travis Head set to return for next month's Top End home series against South Africa.
Josh Inglis (10) opened his account with consecutive fours before Holder grabbed his second in the over as the Australian wicketkeeper chipped a length delivery to mid-on, while Marsh (14) lost his off stump bail to a Joseph seed that shaped to swing away before beating the Aussie skipper on his inside edge.
Tim David (30 off 12), fired up after an exchange with umpire Leslie Reifer over a non-wide call, launched four sixes in his next nine balls faced before picking out to deep square leg to become Joseph's second victim, but the bowler's night was soured when he left the field with an injury in his third over.
Australia's T20 side will be back in action in Darwin in just 12 days' time as they begin a three-match contest with last year's T20 World Cup runners-up South Africa, while West Indies head to Florida to take on Pakistan on Thursday as they desperately try to turn their form around.
Australia sealed their first-ever 5-0 sweep of a T20 series with a three-wicket win
www.cricket.com.au
