Reigning World Cup champions Australia have secured the one-day international series against the West Indies with a game in spare after a dominant 83-run victory at the SCG on Sunday.
After being sent into bat on a hot day in Sydney, Australia was under pressure when losing three wickets in the first 10 overs before Sean Abbott (69 runs) combined well with Matt Short (41) and Aaron Hardie (26) to lead the nation to 9 for 258.
Abbott, who secured player of the match honours, secured three wickets alongside premium quick Josh Hazlewood, who finished with 3-43 from eight overs.
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Victorian captain Will Sutherland, who made 18 with the bat in a handy cameo, chimed in with two wickets in a promising debut as Australia bowled the West Indies out in the 44th over for 175.
The final leg of the series will be held in Canberra on Tuesday, with a three game T20 series to follow to complete the West Indies tour.
ABBOTT SERVES REMINDER OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Could Sean Abbott be entering “the golden period” of his career, as former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe opined on Fox Cricket on Sunday?
It is nine years since Abbott was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony and later auctioned off to Bangalore’s Indian Premier League franchise.
The all-rounder had already demonstrated significant talent with the ball and also with the bat for his nation and was clearly in selectors’ calculations as a player of the future.
The 31-year-old has scarcely disappointed and holds the record in terms of wickets taken in the Big Bash League. He has also excelled internationally but the opportunities to star for his nation have been relatively rare given his talent.
He was named in Australia’s Test squad for the summer against India in 2020 but missed out on earning a baggy green, and had played a combined 30 ODI or T20s for his nation leading into the SCG outing against the West Indies.
With Australia under significant pressure at 6-142 after the top order was dismissed cheaply, Abbott steadied the ship with a well-timed 69 runs of 63 balls when batting at No.8, which included a 57-run partnership with debutant Will Sutherland.
“We were in a bit of trouble there but we knew the way the wicket was playing that if we could get above 220 … it would be a competitive total,” Abbott told Fox Cricket.
It was Abbott’s second half-century in the ODI arena and his highest score for Australia. A member of the World Cup winning squad, Abbott said that while he would love to play more regularly, he felt he was improving simply by being around the squad.
“It is hard (to get a game) with the bowlers who are around. They are very good and that is putting it mildly,” he said.
“It is such a good environment (to be around) that you feel like your cricket is moving forward … especially the last few months, it has been amazing. I loved getting out there today and playing in front of some friends and family.”
Fox Cricket analyst Mark Waugh praised the all-rounder’s decision-making during his innings and said it was an example of his improvement over the past two years.
“I am so happy for Sean Abbott. He is such a good, all-round talent,” Waugh said.
“He has always been a natural hitter of the ball but he paced this innings beautifully. When he needs the power, he has got it.”
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Recent Cricket Australia Hall of Fame inductee Mike Hussey was also full of praise for Abbott.
“The way he played today, it wasn’t just his hitting towards the end, I think it was the way he thought his way through the innings. He showed a bit of experience and a willingness to think his way through it rather than hit his way out of it,” Hussey told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s been difficult (for Abbott) because normally he comes in so late when there’s not many balls left and he’s got to tee off from the word go. But for him to have an opportunity to actually bat for a significant period of time, show that he can work the ball around, sum up the situation really well, and then use his power game towards the end shows he’s a bloody good player. He can certainly do it.”
So well did Abbott bat, the prospect of him being promoted to bat at No.7 in the order has been floated but Hussey thinks he is well-positioned at the moment with Australia in the midst of a new ODI cycle aiming towards the 2027 World Cup in Africa.
“No. 7 is a very important role. I still think I’d like more of a batting all-rounder at No. 7, whereas I still see him as a bowling all-rounder at this stage,” he said.
Abbott secured man of the match honours when finishing with 3-40 from his 10 overs after his innings of 69.
Openers collapse in shock start at SCG | 01:06
FARMING ALL-ROUNDERS IN THE WEST
Cameron Green blasted sixes and Aaron Hardie opened the bowling with the reigning Allan Border Medallist Mitch Marsh enjoying a well-earned rest before the tour of New Zealand later this month.
Another Sandgroper Marcus Stoinis was a member of the World Cup winning ODI squad in India late last year, appearing in a round-robin clash against Pakistan in October.
As Mike Hussey quipped during the broadcast, when it comes to all-rounders, the “breed them from the trees” in Western Australia.
Such is the depth in Australian ranks, Abbott is among the talents scrapping for crumbs in a nation with a surplus of all-rounders. So well has Michael Neser batted at times this year, he would also surely qualify as an all-rounder given his excellence with the ball.
Hussey noted it was a far cry from when, following the retirement of Shane Watson in 2016, there were concerns as to whether Australia had the ability to replace a cricketer of his talent.
“It’s bizarre, isn’t it? I remember when Shane Watson was sort of finishing (his international career), we were crying out, ‘We need all-rounders’. They just offer you so much balance,” Hussey told foxsports.com.au.
“We couldn’t really find one for a while there, and then sure enough about four or five burst onto the scene.
“It’s just weird how it works I guess, but hopefully we can continue to keep producing and developing players that can bat and bowl at a very high standard.”
Hussey, who hails from Western Australia, said the importance of an all-rounder or two in international cricket should not be underestimated.
“It just gives you so much balance, so much versatility in the team. If it happens to be not someone’s night, then you’ve got someone else that can come in and do a job as well,” he said.
“Having a lot of all-rounders, sometimes I worry that if they’re not quite good enough with the bat or not quite good enough with the ball, then it can be a worry having too many of them, but I think we’re quite blessed.
“Hardie’s shown he’s very good with the bat and the ball. Cameron Green’s obviously shown he’s very good with bat and ball. Abbott’s shown he’s very good with the ball, and now tonight, he’s shown he’s very good with the bat as well.
“If they can offer a lot with both disciplines, then it just gives you so many options and so much balance in your team.”
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A WIN FOR THE KOOKABURRA OVER THE SHERRIN
As recently as two years ago, some AFL clubs were yet to rule a line through the prospect of former draft hopeful Will Sutherland reversing course in his career of choice.
Sutherland, who similarly to Abbott owns the distinction of being on the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year honour roll, represented Vic Metro in under-age footy and was considered a probable top 10 draft pick given his talent and also his size.
But after representing Australia at under-19 level in cricket, he instead accepted a rookie offer from Cricket Victoria and has continued to build impressively leading into his debut for Australia on Sunday at the SCG.
The Victorian captain, 24, made his debut alongside his former state teammate Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is now excelling in South Australia and showed a flash of his talent when making 10 from five balls at the top of the order.
Sutherland combined well in the lower-order alongside Abbott, making 18 runs from 33 balls, and then bowled tightly before claiming his first international wicket when Romario Shepherd holed out to Abbott in the 32nd over of the West Indies failed run chase.
“You love the way he goes about it. He is a fantastic competitor. He gives 100 percent and he came in and did the job tonight. It will give him a lot of confidence going forward,” Hussey said.
He claimed a second wicket when Alzarri Joseph holed out on the boundary line for 19 to finish with 2-28 from eight overs.
“I thought Sutho was really good today. It was nice to see them have a debut and that we could have a win for them,” Australian captain Steve Smith said of the debutants.
AUS debut for Sutherland & Fraser-McGurk | 01:02
SPEAKING OF BLOKES WHO WERE HANDY WITH ANOTHER BALL
Sutherland’s Victorian teammate Matthew Short went to school at Australian football nursery St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, a school that has produced dozens of AFL players in its history.
But Short, whose older brother Sam played basketball professionally for Melbourne United and the New Zealand Breakers, was destined to pursue a cricket career and enjoyed the privilege of batting on Australian soil in an international for the first time on Sunday.
The 28-year-old produced a polished innings at No.6 when scoring 41 runs from 55 balls before falling caught and bowled to Gudakesh Motie at a time he looked settled.
Short has been opening in recent seasons but said he felt reasonably comfortable batting in the middle-order.
“It is a little bit different. Obviously I have done a lot of opening over the past couple of years (but) nothing has really changed too much,” he told Fox Cricket.
“It is about being positive … and I was able to play myself in early and try to take it deep.”
Hussey is certain Short would prefer to bat at the top of the order given his deeds in the Big Bash League but believes he has the adaptability to be able to slot in wherever Australia needs him.
“I think he’s got a good opportunity in the middle order. I think he’s good enough to play good fast bowling,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“ He’ll have to keep improving against spin, which I think he will, plus he’s going to provide some handy off-spin as well, so I think he’s going to be a good, versatile player for that middle order.
“I think he played a really good innings today when Australia were in trouble. He seems cool under pressure, which I think you need to be as well. I think he could play a good role in the middle order.”
THE SHAMAR JOSEPH EFFECT
Following the role of new sensation Shamar Joseph for the West Indies through the Test series, spinner Gudakesh Motie kept the good times rolling for Guyana on Sunday when taking three wickets in an impressive display of spin bowling.
But the heroics of Joseph in Adelaide and Brisbane remains very much a hot topic across the Caribbean according to Johnny Grave, the West Indies chief executive officer.
Prior to the second ODI of the series at the SCG, he told ABC Grandstand from Antigua that the deeds of Joseph against Australia had been the talk of the region, with cricket’s new superstar arriving home to a celebratory welcome as he recovers from a toe injury.
“It has been surreal, really. I have never seen a feeling like it across all the islands,” Grave said.
“The feelgood factor is certainly alive across, not just the entire Caribbean, but reverberating across the entire world.”
Prior to the Test series, West Indian legend Brian Lara told Fox Cricket podcast The Follow On he had no doubt there was considerable talent across the region, but harnessing it was the key.
“In terms of the state of West Indian cricket, I will always maintain that, talent-wise, we do produce talent. We churn out talent,” Lara told Fox Cricket.
Grave, who assumed the role with the West Indies in 2017 after previously being involved with the Surrey Cricket Club, said there is a strong appetite for long-form cricket in the West Indies.
“The passion for Test cricket exists here,” he told the ABC.
“Because of that unique success we had with the T20 guys in back-to-back wins in 2012 and 2016, and obviously all of the icons of the T20 sport in Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo … everyone just assumed around the world that the West Indies were just going to play T20 cricket.
“I have been pleasantly surprised that red ball cricket, like it is in most parts of the world, is seen as the greatest of the three formats, the ultimate test of skill and of mental strength.
“It is hopefully an opportunity for everyone to see that the West Indies take Test cricket and four day cricket very seriously.”
The West Indies are co-hosting the T20 World Cup with the United States in June and hoping they are able to snare a third success in the tournament in 12 years.
But after the West Indies missed qualifying for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Grave said an emphasis had been placed on building a squad capable of challenging in 2027.
“The 50 over format for the West Indies for many years has been our weakest format but it is certainly something we are looking to rebuild under Daren Sammy’s leadership as we look towards 2027, which will be the next time we play in a World Cup in that format,” Grave said.
