West Indies made short work of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the third ODI to win the match by four wickets and seal the series 3-0 on Friday at Sharjah cricket stadium. There were two chief architects in Windies' win in the third match. They were Kevin Sinclair and Alick Athanaze. While Sinclair finished with a spell of 4 for 24 from 7.1 overs, Athanaze scored 65 off 45 balls to help Windies chase down the target of 185.
On the way to 65, Athanaze also hit the joint fastest fifty on ODI debut, completing it in just 24 balls. India's Krunal Pandya had smashed a half-century in the same number of balls against England in 2021. Both Krunal and Athanaze now hold this record together.
_WORLD RECORD_
Alick Athanaze has equaled the fastest half-century on ODI debut!_#MenInMaroon #UAEvWI pic.twitter.com/MqlgaLTSd5
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) June 9, 2023
Top show by Sinclair
Spinner Sinclair, who was making a comeback, finished with four wickets, breaking the back of UAE batting lineup. The off-break bowler dismissed Vriitya Aravind, who with 70, was the top-scorer for UAE. That wicket was crucial in the context of the game as Aravind was looking rock-solid in the middle and could have taken UAE to a better total on the board, maybe to even 250. All that UAE could manage in the end was 184.
Then Athanaze raised his hand
Athanaze was at his best with the bat, stroking a beautiful-looking 65 off just 45 balls. The innings included 9 fours and 3 sixes respectively. Athanaze is a big Brian Lara fan and the left-handed batter's stylish strokes reminded about the West Indian legend during the innings. Athanaze departed before Windies then lost a few wickets in the middle. But Roston Chase (27 not out) and Keemo Paul (2 not out) guided the side home with plenty of overs to spare.
It is quite ironical that two of the best performers for West Indies in this game - Sinclair and Athanaze - do not find their names in the squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers which will be played in Zimbabwe. Carlos Brathwaite, the man who won Windies their 2nd T20 World Cup by hitting four consecutive sixes in the final of 2016 edition, said that Athanaze is 'future of West Indies cricket'.
