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Australia vs West Indies 3rd Match Benson & Hedges World Series Cup 1987 Article

Read the article of Australia vs West Indies 3rd Match Benson & Hedges World Series Cup 1987 - Benson & Hedges World Series Cup one-day international tournament of the 3rd ODI match played between West Indies and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne in 20th January 1987.


 
A superb economical bowling by Michael Holding before Desmond Haynes' brilliant fifty and Gus Logie's unbeaten 44 helped to West Indies convincing seven-wicket victory over England in a low-scoring historic game of the third match of a Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.


* West Indies became the first team to win the 100 ODI matches in One-day international cricket history.


Australia scored 181-6 in 50 overs with top scorer by Allan Border hit a unbeaten 64 off 120-balls including 4-fours.

Simon O'Donnell cracked a 52 off 64-balls including 2-fours & a six and Steve Waugh 15.

West Indies best bowler by Malcolm Marshall took 2-wickets and one for Michael Holding - Joel Garner.

West Indies chased 182-3 in 48.2 overs with top scorer by Desmond Haynes hit 67 off 121-balls including 6-fours.

Gus Logie scored a unbeaten 44 off 71-balls including 4-fours, Gordon Greenidge struck 35 off 53-balls included 4-fours and Richie Richardson 20.

Australia best bowler by Greg Matthews, Steve Waugh and Peter Taylor each took one-wickets.



This match reported by Peter West (Third Party Reference from The Daily Telegraph)


WEST INDIES beat Australia by seven wickets in the third preliminary match of the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup in Melbourne.

If the England players were watching it on televison in Sydney, they would have hailed it as the result they wanted.

It produces a status quo, each of the three participating countries having won and lost a game. England beat West Indies by six wickets in Brisbane last Saturday, but went down to Australia by 11 runs the next day.

They should have won that second encounter, even though they had to play two days running in debilitating heat.

Now, if England can recapture momentum towards the end of a very demanding tour, they must beat Australia in Sydney tomorrow to regain the initiative before all three teams move on for further encounters in Adelaide.

England will play West Indies there on Saturday, and Australia next Monday. Sunday's fixture will be Australia against West Indies, so this time, England will get a day's rest.

There was never a serious doubt yesterday that West Indies would win comfortably once Australia, who were asked to bat first, had made 181 for six off their 50 overs. Even that was a lot more than at one time seemed likely.

Greenidge and Haynes, the most durable opening partnership in Test history, raised 54 for the first wicket, off 15 overs, before Greenidge, aiming a pull shot at Waugh, was nicely picked up by Border close in on the leg side.

Subsequent progress was relatively muted partly because Richardson, coming in at No. 3, is struggling to find his best touch and partly because Matthews found a surprising degree of turn for his off-spinners.

It was an off-break from Taylor, keeping low, which eventually accounted for Richardson, whereupon Logie, not Richards, came in next. The West Indies captain has an injured hand.

Haynes and Logie, not without occasional difficulty as the ball moved about for the quicker bowlers, then took their side to the brink of victory with a stand of 79.

At that point Haynes, who may have offered a difficult leg-side chance to Zoehrer off Reid, on 47, was lbw to Matthews.

The rest was formality, and Haynes (67) was named as man of the match, having held his side's innings together. Logie was 44 not out.
Hearts may have bled for Australia's batsmen, struggling to make any headway from the outset against a relentlessly accurate attack.

On a hard pitch of not altogether predictable bounce West Indies reduced them to 30 for three off the first 11 overs and then, while Holding was embarked on a throttling stint of 10 overs for only 15, to 74 for five off 32.



Matthews run out

It was no help to the cause that Matthews was run out before he received a ball. At that point Australia looked down and out for the count, and there was little respite for them when Harper conceded no more than 26 runs in a restrictive spell of off-spin.

But Border, grittily biding his time, found in O'Donnell the partner he needed to salvage something from the wreckage. These two hung in together until, with 40 overs completed, the score had edged past 100.

Australia did remarkably well to strike or scramble 52 runs in the last five overs. Marshall and Garner lost their cool in the final stages, and the fielding, hitherto sparkling, grew ragged.
Marshall was hit for 11 in his last over, including a huge six off a full toss that O'Donnell hit far beyond long-off, and Garner in his last two was despatched for 27.

After doing a rousing job for his side O'Donnell, 52 off 64 balls, was caught at long-on off Marshall, who thus took his 100th wicket in one-day internationals. Of those who have passed that milestone, Holding tops the list with 139.

The next batsman, Macleay, made a handy dozen in no time at all, Border carried out his bat for 64 from 129 deliveries, and his bowlers then had some sort of total to defend.

                   

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