Australia’s stand-in skipper Alex Carey hailed his team’s “fantastic efforts”, saying they learnt from the defeat in the second ODI and adapted well, after winning the three-match ODI series 2-1 against the West Indies on Monday (July 26) at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown.
In the series-deciding third and final ODI, Australia dismissed the West Indies to paltry 152 with Mitchell Starc returned with three scalps for 43 while Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa each picked 2 wickets.
Chasing the total at a terrible pitch of Kensington Oval, Australian had an unforgettable start, but the number three Carey (35) and Matthew Wade’s 51 from 52 balls enabled Australia to score 153/4 in 30 overs as the tourists thrashed the hosts by 6 wickets to win the ODI series 2-1 on Monday.
Australia had won the first ODI by 133 runs, but the West Indies came back to win the rescheduled second ODI by four wickets and Carey said that defeat helped his team to clinch the series.
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Carey said after the game, “It's nice to represent the country and then captain it. Fantastic group effort. The bowlers did a great job. There were some good innings in the series. A bit ugly today but to get a score like that on that pitch, you have to be a bit ugly. We learnt a lot from the other night and adapted. They (bowlers) know their skills and execute them well.”
He finished the ODI series as top scorer with 112 runs, but the stand-in skipper said it’s not about his individual achievements when asked about his excellence with the bat, but was just elated to see smiles on his teammates’ faces following a tough tour of the West Indies, where they lost T20I series 1-4.
The 29-year-old further noted, “We have been working really hard. (On being the top run-scorer in the series) I don't really focus a lot on my game, it's great to see a smile on the boy's faces. Had a lot of support for this series. Personally and collectively, it's exciting (to win a series).”
He concluded, “It's tough leaving home in a pandemic. The commitment that these guys showed was great to see and getting a result in our favor was great. The T20s didn't go our way but it's nice to see some reward for our commitment. It's nice to represent the country and then captain it. Fantastic group effort.”
(With SportsCafe Inputs)
