A great straight eight as Aussies sweep up T20 record

After bowling the home team out for just 170, their lowest score of the five-match T20I series, Australia reached their target with three overs to spare, making 7-173 off 17 overs on Monday (Tuesday AEST), despite some early alarms.

Australia won all three Tests and five T201s, after winning the toss in all eight games.

Despite the absence of pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc and star batter Travis Head, Australia became the first team to beat another ICC full member 5-0 in a T20I series.

"It will be something that we're very proud of," captain Mitchell Marsh told broadcaster ESPN.

"I probably didn't expect 5-0 at the start of the series, but I think across the board we played some fantastic cricket."

Australia made a shaky start to game five, losing four wickets inside the first five overs despite Marsh (14 off eight balls) striking three boundaries in the first over, and an explosive cameo from Tim David (30 off 12).

Player of the series Cameron Green (32 off 18) and Mitchell Owen (37 off 17) wrested back the initiative, blasting 63 in less than five overs, taking 22 runs off the eighth over and another 21 in the ninth.

Owen, the emerging star of last summer's domestic BBL competition, clouted three fours and as many sixes before edging to short third, ending his third significant score in four innings in his first international series.

Green, who scored three half-centuries and ended the series as the leading run-scorer with 205 at an average of 68.33,  was caught at long-off, leaving Australia requiring 30 off the last eight overs.  

Aaron Hardie (28 not out off 25 balls) steered Australia to victory.

"We've had contributions all around and it's been nice to bat off the high strike rates of the other guys and try and keep up with them," Green told ESPN.

West Indies lost three wickets in the first five overs of their innings.

Recalled left-arm quick Ben Dwarshuis (3-41) bowled Shai Hope after being struck for successive boundaries, then had Brandon King caught at mid-on.

Allrounder Hardie had Keacy Carty caught at deep midwicket by Glenn Maxwell.

Shimron Hetmyer (52 off 31) was their most effective batter before falling to Sean Abbott's good low running catch at long-off.

Sherfane Rutherford was also impressive in making 35 off 17 deliveries.

But the home side again fell away badly in the closing overs, losing their last four wickets for just 15 runs.

"When you're playing against quality opposition like Australia, you've got to put things together more completely, and as a batting group we didn't really give ourselves the best chance to put a big score on the board," West Indies skipper Hope told ESPN.

Adam Zampa (1-20 off three) marked his 100th T20I by bowling Alzarri Joseph in the 19th over, and Nathan Ellis (2-32 off 3.4) picked up his 200th wicket in all T20 competitions.

Zampa and Dwarshuis were joint leading wicket-takers for the series with eight apiece, though the latter played one less game.

Australian Associated Press