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Scores:

WI 272

(S Campbell 79, W Hinds 70;
MacGill 7-104)

2nd Inns 352

(S Campbell 54, W Hinds 46,
R Sarwan 51, R Jacobs 62,
M Nagamootoo 68;
GMcGrath 3-80, CMiller 4-102)

Australia 452

M Slater 96, S Waugh 103,
R Ponting 51, A Gilchrist 87;
Nagamootoo 3-119)

2nd Inns 174-4

(M Slater 86*)

Weblinks:

Australia v West Indies
5th Test, Sydney, 2-6 January 2001
AUSTRALIA WON BY 6 WICKETS
& and won series 5-0

THE INEVITABLE CONCLUSION
And so it came to pass that West Indies did get well and truly hammered. The series and their pride left in tatters, frankly the only way is up, and at least there were a few signs of fight left in them.

First the good news:
Wavell Hinds, promoted to open with Campbell, sparked the partnership as they added 147 and 91, giving the West Indians a start, twice; Samuels had a quiet match (28 and 0) but looks a cool head, and shone during his time a t the crease; Ramnaresh Sarwan returned after a poor start to the series, and duly notched a reassured 51 in the second innings under immense pressure; Ridley Jacobs showed continuing combative skills with the bat, 12 and 62 bringing his series tally to 288 runs @32; Mahendra Nagamootoo made a contribution with bat and ball (80 runs and three wickets).

The bad news:
The West Indies slumped first time around from 152 for one to 272 all out, as MacGill utilised an already wearing pitch finishing with a seven-wicket haul; The West Indian bowlers then gave away any chance of resurrection, as the Australians made easy work of amassing a sizeable lead, Slater missing out on another hundred, while Steve Waugh added his 24th in Test, while Gilchrist entertained with a swashbuckling 87 in 124 balls.

Second innings resistance with minimal assistance from Lara, set Australia an almost tricky 173. But Slater stood firm, adding 102 with skipper Steve Waugh as the home side passed the finishing post early on the fifth afternoon of the final Test, of a horribly one-sided series.

Australia's dominance was all but total. The bowling was lean, mean and effective while the batting had depth, power and an assured swagger. The West Indians had little to offer as a team, even Courtney Walsh finished the series limping with an ankle injury, but he will fight on against the South Africans in search of the elusive 500th Test wicket.

For West Indies cricket sake, things have to improve, however slowly, the South Africans will not be any less ruthless than the Aussies, but the real pressure will be from the home fans. The only way must be up. As for the 15-in-a-row Australian's India are the next potential victims, and if Warne is fit, and Kumble remains injured, there is little hope for them either.
Richard Kendall