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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

West Indies skittled for 27 as Mitchell Starc breaks Test record in Australia win

Mitchell Starc took the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history as Australia bowled out West Indies for just 27 in Jamaica.

Chasing 204 for victory in the third Test, Starc had John Campbell caught behind first ball and also removed both Kevlon Anderson and Brandon King in a remarkable opening over.

That left West Indies on 0/3, and Starc then trapped Mikyle Louis and Shai Hope in front to make it five wickets in 15 balls. No bowler had previously taken a five-wicket haul in fewer than 19 deliveries.

The wicket of Louis was Starc’s 400th in Tests and he finished with figures of 6-9, extending his remarkable record with the pink ball.

He now has 81 wickets in day-night tests, 38 more than any other bowler.

West Indies were in serious danger of falling to the lowest total in Test history - New Zealand’s 26 against England in 1955 - but Justin Greaves’ top score of 11 took them level with that.

Scott Boland then took a hat-trick, sealed as Jomel Warrican was clean bowled, and it required a single from Alzarri Joseph to ensure the hosts did not share an unwanted piece of history.

However, Jayden Seales was bowled next ball by Starc, the seventh duck of the innings, as West Indies fell well short of their previous worst Test total of 47.

That wrapped up an 176-run win for Australia and a 3-0 series clean sweep.

"It's been a fantastic series. I think we've seen some difficult batting conditions throughout," Starc said.

"It's been a good few days, very enjoyable and I'll go home with a smile on my face.

“Today again just felt like everything was in sync. Everyone who had the ball in hand today was on the mark straight away. I don't think we imagined it was going to happen as quickly as it did but when you've got an attack like ours, some things can happen like that."

West Indies captain Roston Chase said “It's heartbreaking to be in a position where we think we can win the game and then come out and have that poor batting display.

"It's something that has been recurring for the whole series - that makes it even more disappointing."

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