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25-Mar-2012 05:50:00 GMT
West Indies v Australia, 5th ODI, Gros Islet

Hosts Aim to Break 17-year Drought Against Oz

Saint Lucia: Kieron Pollard believes the West Indies can wrap up a first series victory over Australia in 17 years on Sunday by refusing to be intimidated by the tourists.

Pollard crashed a blistering century in Friday's 42-run win which gave his team a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

That victory came after a heavy loss in the opener which, in the past, would have been the cue for a familiar West Indies capitulation.

But Pollard has detected a new sense of determination amongst his teammates.

"The Australians have come pretty hard at us, but one good thing is that we have not backed down," said the burly all-rounder, whose 102 off 70 balls at Beausejour on Friday featured eight huge sixes.

With West Indies' last series win over the Australians coming in 1995 - when Pollard was just eight - confidence is high.

Friday's fireworks represented 24-year-old Pollard's second ODI century in just five innings, following on from his maiden international century against India in Chennai last December.

His demolition of the Australian attack led the Windies to 294-7 off 50 overs after being sent in to bat before they then dismissed the visitors for 252 off 46.3 overs.

West Indies will be reluctant to change a winning side, which could mean Tino Best and Devendra Bishoo will end the series without having played a match.

Australia won the first match by 64 runs before West Indies levelled the series with a five-wicket win. The third match, also in Saint Vincent, was tied.

The visitors have been nothing short of mediocre in this series with most of their batsmen failing to come good. The openers have hardly delivered in this series with David Warner and Shane Watson failing multiple times.

David Warner has had a couple of good starts in this series without posting a big score. He arrived in the Caribbean fresh from two centuries in the three tri-series finals against Sri Lanka but the St Vincent pitch was a challenge and he missed out early in Friday's game. But the quicker St Lucia surface should suit him, and Australia will be hoping he gets a start on Sunday and capitalises on it.

Teams

West Indies (from)
Darren Sammy(c), Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh(w), Tino Best, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Adrian Barath, Garey Mathurin

Australia have name an unchanged side from the one that lost on Friday.

Australia Shane Watson (capt), David Warner, Peter Forrest, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, George Bailey, Matthew Wade (wk), Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Pitch and conditions
It's as close as you get to an Australian wicket, with the pace and the bounce and a little bit of seam movement.

Stats and trivia

  • Clint McKay took his 50th ODI wicket on Friday and became the fourth-fastest Australian to the milestone, behind Dennis Lillee, Shane Warne and Len Pascoe.
  • West Indies will move ahead of New Zealand on the ICC's one-day rankings if they beat Australia in this game.

Match facts
Sunday March 25, 2012
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)


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