Australia v West Indies - Tour Match

Cricket Australia Chairman's XI v West Indians

Adelaide Oval
4 Day Game
Umpires: CJ Egar & LP Rowan

Chairman's XI: W Bardsley, SG Barnes, *IM Chappell, AL Hassett, WW Armstrong, KD Walters, JM Gregory, +ATW Grout, MG Hughes, TM Alderman, H Ironmonger.
West Indians: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, RB Kanhai, EdeC Weekes, CH Lloyd, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MA Holding, WW Hall, J Garner, LR Gibbs.

West Indies' tour of Australia got off to the worst possible start as they crashed to an innings defeat inside three days against the Board Chairman's XI in Adelaide. The Board Chairman's XI, a team made up of players uncapped by Australia in ATG Tests, racked up an imposing 475-5 declared and then proceeded to bundle out the West Indians for 209 and 136 in less than 120 overs as the tourists paid the penalty for a very poor batting display.

The Australians scored at a rate exceeding four an over throughout their innings, with the foundations being laid by by Bardsley and Barnes' first wicket partnership of 169. The graceful Bardsley missed out on his hundred, but Barnes made no mistake, and capitalised on Hall's dropped catch when he was on 24 to the tune of 117 additional runs. The ebullient Barnes was joined on three figures by skipper Ian Chappell, who had himself been given a life on 29 when Dujon fumbled a straightforward stumping chance off Sobers, and Gibbs apart, not one of the tourists' bowlers managed to appear even remotely threatening. Warwick Armstrong rounded off the innings with a rollicking 93 and Chappell declared upon his dismissal, allowing his bowlers time to reduce the tourists to 157-5 by the close of the second day.

Jack Gregory completed his five wicket haul on the third morning to wrap up the West Indians' first innings, and once Chappell enforced the follow on it was spin that undid the tourists second time round as Ironmonger and Armstrong routed the Windies for just 136. Both bowlers were able to extract a considerable amount of turn from a dusting pitch, and one wonders whether their performance will influence the Test team's make-up ahead of the series opener in Brisbane.

For the tourists, only Rohan Kanhai passed 50 in either innings, and although he looked in good touch the same could not be said of most of his colleagues. Des Haynes was unlucky to be the victim of two very poor lbw decisions, and it must be said that the tourists were on the receiving end of a number of poor calls over the course of the match. However, this cannot mask the fact that the West Indians simply played some very average cricket here in Adelaide, and if things do not improve rapidly Australia will fancy their chances of avenging the blackwash with a resounding victory of their own.

Scores
Chairman's XI 1st Inns 475-5 dec. (Barnes 141, Chappell 130, Armstrong 93, Bardsley 84)
West Indians 1st Inns 209 (Kanhai 57, Dujon 45*; Gregory 5-70)
West Indians 2nd Inns 136 (Ironmonger 5-37)

CRICKET AUSTRALIA CHAIRMAN'S XI WON BY AN INNINGS & 130 RUNS