Bolstered by Shimron Hetmyer’s well constructed 61 runs from 36 balls, the West Indies put on an impressive batting display in the 2nd T20 of the CG Insurance series against Australia, at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia tonight. Batting first after again being sent in by Australia, the ‘Men in Maroon’ ended with 196 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Hetmyer and Dwayne Bravo put on a 103 partnership. Bravo, who was promoted up the order, contributed 47 off 34 balls, and was not out with Andre Russell at the end. Russell had a strike rate of 300, making 24 off 8 balls.
In reply, Australia was unable to keep up with the required run rate, after losing wickets steadily throughout the innings. As in the first match, the visitors were bowled out, this time for 140 in 19.2 overs. Mitchell Marsh top scored with 54 off 42 balls. Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques were the only two other batsmen who got into double figures. Hayden Walsh Jr was again among the wickets, taking 3 for 29 in his 4 overs.
The West Indies won by 56 runs under the captaincy of Nicholas Pooran. Regular captain Kieron Pollard is still recovering from a hamstring injury, while Fidel Edwards had to leave the field after picking up a triceps injury while bowling his second over. Lendl Simmons bowled the final ball to finish off that over.
Pooran said “The decision to send Dwayne up the order to keep a left-right combination was fantastic, seeing a senior player raising their hand and showing their experience. Dwayne asked the question [to come in at No. 5] and we just saw it was important to have a left-right combo with the wind factor so I held myself back.”
Asked what was different about this innings, Shimron Hetmyer said “I really didn’t do anything much differently tonight. It was just having a partnership in the middle to set a platform for us. I’m trying to be someone who can not only play shots but also rotate the strike and be there as long as possible. I never batted with Bravo before so it was really nice to bat with him for the first time and have a 100-run partnership. He was just telling me to keep going and just do what you do best. I really trusted him batting and running between the wickets.”
Click here for the scorecard.
The 3rd T20 will be played on Monday July 12 at the same venue.