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The Champions Trophy hasn’t had many runs, but it has had something more precious: upsets. South Africa fell to New Zealand, and now Australia have gone down to West Indies.

The Aussies showed two unexpected weaknesses. After a strong start with the ball, they couldn’t finish off the West Indian top order. The killer instinct was missing. Glenn McGrath, still shaking off the rust and trundling in as third seamer, was anodyne, and while other teams’ spinners have flourished, Australia’s gave Brian Lara and Runako Morton no headaches.

When they batted, the Aussies seemed unsure how to play it, as if they didn’t know whether 234 was a good score on this strange and tricky pitch. By not knowing, they ensured that it was. Adam Gilchrist adjusted his game manfully, gritting his way out of trouble. He deserved to finish on the winning side, but only Michael Clarke gave him much support. The Aussies’ new batting order backfired, with Shane Watson making an early misjudgement and Mike Hussey only reaching the middle in the 42nd over. Watson may well turn out to be the right man to open, but Hussey is surely too low at number seven. But mainly it was a case of West Indies playing out of their skins.

Source:The News