A dream debut for Mitchell Owen with bat and ball alongside a stunning half-century from Cameron Green guided Australia to a three-wicket win over West Indies after a masterful death bowling display from Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis set the game up at Sabina Park.

Owen took a key wicket before clubbing 50 off 27 to become the third Australian behind Ricky Ponting and David Warner to make a half-century on T20I debut and bag the Player-of-the-Match award. He smashed six sixes while Green thumped five and two boundaries in a 26-ball 51. The pair added 80 from 40 to rescue Australia from 78 for 4 and gun down the target of 190. Australia out-hit West Indies, smashing 17 sixes to just nine overall.

Earlier, Dwarshuis took 4 for 36 including three in an over, as he and Ellis combined to take four wickets for just seven runs in the last 16 balls of West Indies innings to restrict them to 189 for 8 after half-centuries from Roston Chase and Shai Hope had threatened to set-up a huge total. Chase made 60 off 32 at No.3 while Hope made 55 from 39. Shimron Hetmyer also clubbed 38 from 19 but West Indies’ lower-order combined for 11 between them as they lost 6 for 30 in the final five overs.

In the absence of the injured Evin Lewis, West Indies new-look top three laid a superb platform. Brandon King made the switch from Test cricket to T20 mode look easy, thumping four boundaries in the first three overs as Australia’s quicks missed wide. The early introduction of spin halted momentum with Cooper Connolly bagging his first T20I wicket as King ran past one. Hope picked up the baton launching Connolly inside out over cover off the back foot.

Dwarshuis started a West Indies collapse as Chase holed out to long-on trying to clear the rope again. Hope slowed down significantly before Owen made his first impact in T20I cricket with the ball, forcing a miscue from Hope with a wide slower ball. Either side of that though he conceded two sixes to Hetmyer.

Ellis and Dwarshuis then put on a clinic. Hetmyer was threatening to push West Indies well over 200, smoking Ellis’ first two balls of the 18th over to the rope. But thereafter West Indies lost 4 for 7 off the last 16 balls of the innings. Ellis’ last four balls of the 18th over were a mixture of brilliant slower balls and yorkers. Dwarshuis took three wickets for one run in the 19th with three mishits caught in the deep. Ellis closed out the last thanks to some help from Green who denied Hetmyer a certain six at long-off with a stunning catch that no other Australian fielder could have caught at full stretch on the rope.

Eyebrows were raised when Australia’s selectors recalled Fraser-McGurk in place of the injured Spencer Johnson as a reserve wicketkeeper for Josh Inglis, and they remained raised when he was selected in the XI to open in place of the injured Matt Short.  But there was very little surprise when he struggled to 2 off 7 before miscuing Jason Holder to mid-off.

Mitchell Marsh was in an all-or-nothing mood, mixing three monstrous sixes with seven dots in the powerplay before he got a thin edge to the extra pace of Alzarri Joseph. Green fought fire with fire. He got away with a top edge that flew for six over fine third before being pinned on the shoulder. He then deposited Joseph over fine leg twice to finish the powerplay.

Australia looked in all sorts of trouble when Josh Inglis top-edged Akeal Hosein to short fine and Glenn Maxwell skied Motie straight up to end an indifferent innings of 11 off 10.

Owen kept going, pounding Joseph into the stands to reach 50 off 26 but he too fell next ball trying to go again with Australia still needing 15 off 21. But Connolly, Dwarshuis and Abbott did just enough to steer the visitors home, but not without help from West Indies’ fielders. Substitute fielder Jewel Andrew dropped Abbott at fine leg off Holder with seven to win. He was almost run out too but they nurdled their way home with seven balls to spare.

Brief scores:
Australia 190 for 7 in 18.5 overs (Mitchell Marsh 24, Josh Inglis 18, Cameron Green 51, Glenn Maxwell 11, Mitchell Owen 50, Cooper Conolly 13;  Akeal Hossein 1-35, Gudakesh Motie 2-29, Jason Holder 2-32, Alzarri  Joseph 2-39) beat West Indies 189/8 in 20 overs (Brandon King 18, Roston Chase 60, Shai Hope 55, Shimron Hetmyer 38; Ben Dwarshuis 4-36, Sean Abott 1-40, Cooper Connolly 1-24, Nathan Ellis 1-31, Mitchell Owen 1-14) by three wickets  

[Cricinfo]