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Match Report:

Scorecard

Marsh, Wade lead Aussies to victory

Inspired spell from allrounder and gutsy fightback knock from 'keeper help Australia claim tri-series title against West Indies

The match in a tweet: Wade, Marsh and Hazlewood secure the trophy! Keeper’s fighting fifty, allrounder’s brilliant spell and quick's mop-up five hand Australia series victory in Barbados

The result: Australia 9-270 (Wade 57no, Finch 47, Smith 46) beat West Indies (Charles 45, Hazlewood 5-50, Marsh 3-32) by 58 runs

The turning point: After producing arguably the greatest batting performance of his career five nights ago, Mitchell Marsh delivered probably his best effort with the ball in a superb spell that swung the match in Australia's favour. Brought into the attack the over after Josh Hazlewood had got the breakthrough, Marsh bowled two overs from the Malcolm Marshall End before being spun around to the Joel Garner End, striking almost immediately with the wicket of Darren Bravo. He then knocked over Marlon Samuels and Johnson Charles in consecutive overs to rip the heart of the home side's top order with a five-over spell that yielded impressive figures of 3-6. He finished with 3-32 from his 10 overs, another strong performance in a breakout 2016 so far.

The saviour: Matthew Wade has barely had a chance to get out of first gear with the bat on this tour, batting just three times and only once before the 40th over. But he took his opportunity when his country needed him here, silencing some of the speculation about his status as Australia's No.1 ODI keeper. Coming to the crease after a decisive 31st over when Shannon Gabriel dismissed both Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, Wade lifted Australia from a perilous 5-156 to a match-winning total of 270. Without the safety net of James Faulkner below him in the order, Wade grafted early and then exploded late on, ending the innings with a huge six into the Greenidge and Haynes Stand that gave the tourists plenty of momentum going into the dinner break. He finished with unbeaten 57 from 52 balls, an innings that was match-turning and might be career-changing as well.

Wade fifty leads Aussie fightback

The prophecy: Speaking in St Kitts two weeks ago, Wade made a bold declaration about his wares as a keeper-batsmen in 50-over cricket: "I feel like in the one-day game I've got the ability to win games with the bat," he said. "I think you need a little bit more balance - keeping and batting - in one-day cricket. I'm the man for the job. I've been in the one-day team consistently since the end of the (2015) World Cup, so I feel like I've had a good amount of games to back it up and feel comfortable." He talked the talk and today he walked the walk.

Image Id: ~/media/A5908FB98DF34A449C7BD80697864F26 Image Caption: Wade hits out on his way to an unbeaten 57 // Getty

The miss: Had the Windies' top order not collapsed, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin may have been left to stew over a missed opportunity late in Australia's innings that helped the tourists to their total of 270. Midway through the 46th over, Wade was well short of his ground when Ramdin gathered a loose ball and sized up the stumps from mere metres away, but his underarm throw somehow missed the woodwork. The Australians went on to add a further 40 runs to their total, 28 of them from Wade's bat, in a late surge that could have made a significant difference.

The spinner: Left out for Australia's past two matches, rookie legspinner Adam Zampa was recalled for the high-pressure clash and had the spotlight firmly on him when Kieron Pollard effortlessly launched him for a four and a six in his sixth over. Despite being hammered for six sixes by the Windies in his last match in St Kitts, Zampa continued to toss the ball up and was rewarded with the wicket of Pollard a short time later, well caught on the long-off boundary by Josh Hazlewood. The 24-year-old finished the series with 10 wickets from five games at an average of 22, another impressive series from a youngster whose international career is still less than five months old.

Image Id: ~/media/B4F12E0DA5814D87B6763DA5F85599EE Image Caption: Zampa impressed on his recall for the final // Getty

The key: Since the start of the 2015 World Cup, Australia have lost just two of the 18 matches they've played with Mitchell Starc in their side compared to six of 11 matches without him. The left-armer went wicketless tonight to remain two dismissals short of 100 in his career, but there's no doubt about his importance to this side.

The tweakers: Three of the four most prolific wicket-takers for the series were all spin bowlers, with Imran Tahir (13 wickets at 16), Sunil Narine (12 at 24) and Zampa (10 at 22) leading the way, underlining the slow surfaces throughout the Caribbean.

The stat: 0 - the number of byes conceded by Matthew Wade in this series. The 28-year-old's glovework remains a work-in-progress, as shown by his dropped catch against the Windies earlier this week, but he performed well here in conditions that are always challenging for keepers.

Image Id: ~/media/280037ED427441FC95441AB7F36F84A6 Image Caption: Josh Hazlewood was named Player of the Series with 11 wickets at 20.09 // Getty

West Indies: Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder (c), Sunil Narine, Sulieman Benn, Shannon Gabriel

Australia: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood