Australians gain the upper hand over the West Indies

Australia must have been concerned when scoring only 200 against the West Indies in their crunch Group D game in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Dunedin today.

No Australian batsman managed to dominate against the lively West Indian attack, but the secret of ultimate success in their 42-run win was in the consistency of the batting through the order.

George Bailey's 39 off 61 balls was the highest score for Australia but it was bolstered by 27 from Mark Cosgrove, 28 from Beau Casson and 23 from Xavier Doherty.

At one stage Australia were 94/6 but some consistent partnerships held the West Indians at bay until the last over when they were all out.

Ryan Nurse's right-arm fast-medium bowling caused all manner of problems for the Australians as he finished with five for 28 off 9.2 overs while Narsingh Deonarine proved handy while taking three for 27 off his 10 overs.

The West Indies started well enough in reply in reaching 39 before the first wicket fell, and at 75/2 they were looking in a strong position. However, a middle and lower-order collapse proved costly as the Australians employed seven bowlers in a bid to make their breakthrough. The last eight wickets fell for 83 runs.

Fourth bowler Doherty took three for 24 off his 8.5 overs while Jarrad Burke's slow left-armers really pinned the West Indians down. He conceded only 14 runs in his 10 overs and took two wickets. Casson also contributed with three for 48.

Leeward Islander Tonito Willett was the best of the West Indians in reaching 34 with the only other scores of note being 29 from Dwayne Bravo and 25 by Lorenzo Ingram.