Australia v West Indies, first T20, result, dropped catches, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, video
Australia scraped home in the first T20 against the West Indies and has a terrible final-over showing in the field to thank.
Aaron Finch’s men escaped with a three-wicket victory on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night, but they were saved by two dropped catches in the last over of their chase.
Pursuing 146 to win, Australia was 11 runs from victory at the beginning of the 20th over, before Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc were both spared a life.
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Wade was let off when Raymon Reifer grassed a simple chance at deep backward point, before a dropped catch two balls later by Kyle Mayers at third man gifted Starc.
Right-arm quick Sheldon Cottrell, the bowler cruelled by the dropped catches, threw his arms in the air and shook his head.
“You’ve got to be taking catches at this level if you want to be winning games of cricket,” Brendon Julian said on the Fox Cricket coverage.
“I think jet lag’s set in at 10 o’clock,” Mark Waugh joked.
Australia wrapped up its win when Starc bunted a short ball to the off side and called Wade through for two runs.
“It looked ugly and it was horrible in the last over, but in the end, the West Indies will have themselves to blame,” Julian said.
Finch (58 runs from 53 balls) and Wade (39 not out off 29) piloted Australia’s successful chase.
Finch’s half-century was a crucial source of confidence amid his dire run with the bat during the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Batting at No.4 instead of opening to give Cameron Green a shot at the top of the order, Finch struck six fours.
The 35-year-old retired from one-day international cricket in September but wants to skipper Australia in the T20 World Cup.
Australia and the West Indies will meet in a second T20 at the Gabba on Friday night.
The Australians will begin their World Cup campaign in a match against New Zealand at the SCG on October 22.
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