July 07, 2008

DAVID Hussey and Luke Ronchi blazed two of the fastest fifties in one-day history as Australia completed their first 5-0 whitewash of West Indies with a record victory.

Michael Clarke's side romped to a 169-run victory at Warner Park in the fifth and final one-day international to cap a dominant tour which saw Australia claim the Test series 2-0 and suffer just one loss in the rain-affected Twenty20.

It was the two newest additions to the one-day team that led the charge as Australia piled on 8-341 from 50 overs before dismissing a downtrodden Windies for 172.

Hussey and Ronchi had each batted just once in one-day international cricket before the match, but in their second outings blasted two of the four fastest half-centuries in Australia one-day history.

Pinch-hitter Ronchi (64 off 28 deliveries) smashed his maiden half-century in 22 balls and Hussey (52 off 21) went three better, off just 19 balls, in the final overs.

It put Hussey second on the list of Australia's fastest 50s - and equal fifth in world cricket - with Ronchi now tied for third alongside Damien Martyn.

Simon O'Donnell still holds the record for his 18-ball effort against Sri Lanka in 1990, with Martyn's 22-ball 50 coming against Bangladesh in Cairns in 2003.

In between the Ronchi and Hussey run-scoring hurricanes, Andrew Symonds (66) and Michael Hussey (51) posted a far more measured 113 for the fifth wicket as Australia passed 330 for the fourth time in five matches on the small St Kitts ground.

Any hope of a thrilling Windies run-chase lay with the swashbuckling blade of Chris Gayle, but when the skipper fell meekly for 5 to Mitchell Johnson in just the second over of the innings, it was just a matter of time before the touring side completed the clean sweep.

Left-arm paceman Johnson went on to claim his second five-wicket haul in international cricket - 5-29 - with Shaun Findlay ensuring the margin was not greater with a defiant 59 not out.

In the end, the result was the biggest victory by runs in more than 30 years of Australia-West Indies one-day matches.

Australia's total was also a record for Australia-West Indies one-day matches, with the series result the first time either team has claimed a clean sweep in a bilateral one-day series.

Australia's last two victories also came without skipper Ricky Ponting, who flew home early with an injured wrist.

Ronchi, filling in for the injured Brad Haddin behind the stumps this series, was thrown in at No.3 in just his fourth ODI but more than justified his promotion by blasting five sixes - three off Gayle and two off Fidel Edwards - in the space of nine balls early in his innings.

In total, he bludgeoned five fours and six sixes, mixing raw power down the ground with an array of beautifully timed cover drives - before his innings somewhat surprisingly came to a timid end, caught behind off the first ball from left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.

Hussey, meanwhile, smacked four fours and four sixes during his thrill-a-minute innings, bringing up his second 50 in as many games with back-to-back sixes off Ramnaresh Sarwan (3-57) to start in the final over.

Paceman Edwards was the bowler most to suffer from the onslaught, conceding a Windies record 86 runs from nine overs, claiming three wickets in the process.

Gayle also went for 33 off two overs, while Dwayne Bravo perhaps bowled better than his figures of 1-74 would suggest.

Miller, playing just his second ODI, was without doubt the pick of the bowlers, taking a miserly 1-38 off 10 overs.