Series to W. Indies

Press, 29 January 1982, Page 24

Series to W. Indies

NZPA Sydney The West Indian cricketers confirmed their position as “one-day world champions” by beating Australia by 18 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday night.

They showed there is no substitute for class and taught Australia a cricket lesson in the fourth and deciding match of the World Series Cup. . West Indies scored 234 for six after a slow start in the early part of the day and held Australia to 216 for nine in its innings to win the finals, 3-1. Pakistan, the other team in the competition, was knocked out by Australia earlier in the series.

the win gained the West Indies a prize of $32,000. The all-rounder, Viv Richards, was named the player of the finals. He won $2400 and a set of golden goblets.

A disappointed Australian captain, Greg Chappell, said: “I’m proud of the Australian effort — it didn’t do us any harm going down to the West Indies.

“They keep their early wickets in hand and have the knack of applying the pace when it is needed — 220 we might have got but 234 was a little hard.”

Yet agaih, it was the incomparable Viv Richards who guided the West Indies to victory in the best-of-five series.

Richards contributed 70 runs to the West Indian total. He also captured the prize scalps of Kim Hughes and Allan Border.

Having watched their side slump from 163 for four to 176 for seven, the Australian tail-enders tried gamely to hit their way out of trouble but faced an impossible task over the last overs against

the accurate West Indies pace machine. Richards, aided by Gordon Greenidge, put the West Indies on the road to victory with a 138-run second-wicket stand. The captain, Clive Lloyd, also weighed in with an invaluable unbeaten 41 from only 30 balls. But Australia, somewhat fortunate to win by 46 runs on Tuesday, was right out of luck on Wednesday night. Richards was given not out when the. Australians appealed for a run-out before he had scored. Subsequent television replays showed that he was almost a foot short of his ground when a throw from mid-on by Allan Border, broke his wicket. ’ Richards, was eventually run out but not before he had slammed his 70 off 89 balls, an innings which featured, a towering six over mid-on off Mick Malone.