Brilliant McCoy leads the way as Windies top Aussies

Seam bowler Obed McCoy bagged four wickets while Hayden Walsh Jr had career-best figures to help bowl the West Indies to an 18-run win over Australia in the opening T20 International on Friday night in St Lucia.

The home side, who made 145 for six after batting first, put in a stellar display with the ball to virtually snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by dismissing the Aussies for 127 in 16 overs.

The visitors who were in total control of the run chase at 108 for five in the 11th over, lost their last five wickets for just 19 runs, thanks largely to McCoy who used his slower ball to great effect and Walsh Jr who stifled the Australian middle order with his leg-breaks.

McCoy finished with four for 26 while Walsh Jr ended with a career-best three for 23. Fabian Allen also weighed in with two for 24 as Mitchell Marsh top-scored with 51 and opener Matthew Wade got 33.

McCoy was elated that his efforts did the business for his team.

“It feels great, I have been working really hard and it was all about execution and sticking to the team plan,” said McCoy.

Earlier, Andre Russell hit a career-best 51 from 28 balls to help rescue the West Indies innings.

Russell came to the crease with the West Indies in a spot of bother at 65 for four in the 12th over, and the powerful Jamaican took matters into his own hands by hitting three fours and five massive sixes to get the home team over the 140 mark.

Opener Lendl Simmons with 27 and Shimron Hetmyer, 20, also helped the West Indies' cause against three wickets for Josh Hazelwood and two for Mitchell Marsh.

Stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran, leading the team for the first time in the absence of Kieron Pollard, said he was overjoyed at leading the team to the tremendous victory.

"What a game. First game as captain and I wasn't expecting this. We lost the series against South Africa and we knew we had to come back and do the right things. We didn't get as many runs as we wanted, but all we wanted was a challenging total and we asked the guys for energy and that’s what they brought,” said Pooran.