Australia’s victory in Canberra on Wednesday has turned this fourth match in Sydney and the fifth game in Melbourne on Sunday into dead rubbers. The best West Indies can hope for is a couple of consolation victories to transform the scoreline into a more respectable looking 3-2. Australia want to keep up their momentum and complete a 5-0 clean-sweep, especially if that means runs and wickets for the squad members who are due to fly to India shortly for a four-Test series. Both teams left Canberra with injury concerns, West Indies sweating on the fitness of Chris Gayle, who picked up a side injury while fielding in the third ODI, and Australia unsure about George Bailey, who hurt his hamstring during Australia’s win. The fact that the series is decided means neither side is likely to be inclined to take a risk, which should mean at least one change for each team. Rarely has the term “in the spotlight” been used to describe Clint McKay. One of the lowest-profile members of Australia’s squad, McKay was nonetheless the centre of attention for a short while on Monday night, when he was named Australia’s One-Day International Cricketer of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Melbourne. It was a well-deserved honour for a man who nearly always does his job, taking wickets and keeping the opposition batsmen in check with consistent bowling and subtle changes of pace. Since the start of 2012, only Lasith Malinga has taken more ODI wickets than McKay’s 40 at an average of 23.00. No wonder he is the first picked member of Australia’s one-day attack.
In Canberra, Kieron Pollard reminded everyone watching of just what an exciting player he can be when he took four catches, including a couple of stunners, especially his leaping, one-handed take on the boundary that got rid of Glenn Maxwell. Unfortunately for West Indies, he hasn’t made the same kind of contributions with the batting during this series, with scores of 0, 1 and 9.
