3 things we learnt from the West Indies-Australia T20I series
West Indies dominated their recent five-match T20I series against Australia, winning it by a comfortable 4-1 margin.
For the current T20 World Cup champions, the series win was significant for their plans ahead of the WT20 later this year in the UAE.
West Indies had lost their T20I series against South Africa at home just before the series against the Aussies, putting Pollard and the think-tank in charge in a spot of bother. However, they responded in solid fashion.
For Australia, the series loss has hurt their World T20 preparations. Several of their key players - David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Jhye Richardson - had made themselves unavailable for the Caribbean tour, citing bio-bubble fatigue and a long international summer.
Aaron Finch tried out new combinations in this series. While Mitch Marsh was a standout performer for the visitors, others were good in patches or were rather disappointing.
Here are three things that we learned from the recently concluded T20I series.
#1 West Indies are back to their lethal best as a T20I side
If the South Africa series had put any doubts in the minds of their fans, the Men in Maroon answered their critics in the most formidable manner possible.
Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons form an explosive top three capable of tearing up opposition bowling on any given day.
One of the biggest reliefs for the Windies would be the form of their stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran, who has had a lean patch since the IPL. The 25-year-old got a couple of decent scores under his belt, which would have pleased the team management.
Dwayne Bravo, Fabian Allen and Andre Russell were all in fine touch as well, and along with Kieron Pollard, should form an unstoppable combination going forward.
#2 Mitchell Marsh is the answer to Australia's search for a T20 specialist
Mitchell Marsh batted at No. 3 for Australia and ended the series with the most runs from both sides. He scored 219 runs with a strike rate of 152 and an average of 43.80, including three fifties.
Marsh also picked up eight wickets and was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the series. He was perhaps the only positive to have come out of this series for Finch and his team.
The 29-year-old's stellar performances have made him a certainty in Australia's World T20 squad, and it will be exciting to see Marsh alongside Maxwell and Stoinis.
#3 Hayden Walsh Jr is the find of the T20I series
Hayden Walsh, a product of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), had a series to remember. While all eyes were on Australian tweakers Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, Walsh turned out to be the most skilled spinner in this series.
The West Indian leg-spinner's discipline and control had the Australian batters in trouble throughout the five-match series.
The series was crucial for Walsh as he had performed poorly against Ireland. Against Australia, Hayden Walsh Jr picked up 12 wickets at an average of just 11.66.
With Fabian Allen all set to play as an all-rounder in the side, Walsh’s performances will surely make the team management happy.
The player of the series award would have done his confidence a world of good.