Cricket: Littlest Windian bats up a storm

Still hurting over their Ashes defeat, Australia vented their frustration by beating the West Indies in the first test in Brisbane within three days.

The Windies lost 15 wickets yesterday going down by an innings and 65 runs, as Australia rumbled to their sixth straight win at the Gabba since 2004. They have not lost a test at the ground in 21 years.

But it was another sorry chapter in the tourists' history - the Windies now have nine straight test losses in Australia.

At least Adrian Barath could hold his head high after becoming the youngest West Indian to score a test century on debut.

Barath wears braces, stands just 162cm and looks like he should still be in school. But the 19-year-old stood taller than any of his bigger, more experienced team-mates in unleashing a bold 104.

Barath, discovered by Brian Lara as an 11-year-old, carved a piece of history with his stylish counter-attacking knock in the first test mis-match, but was unable to stop the Australians crushing his team.

He was a full year younger than the legendary George Headley who was 20 years and 226 days when he scored 176 against England in Barbados in 1930. India's Sachin Tendulkar was the only other teenager to notch a test hundred against Australia.

A fierce square drive off Shane Watson - his 20th boundary in the 138-ball knock, which included just five singles - sent Barath to 100. The tiny right-hander raised his arms in triumph, jumped for joy, hugged vice-captain Denesh Ramdin, and then again fell into his arms.

He lasted just six more balls before Watson trapped him leg before. But the tourists' smallest player walked off as tall as manager Joel Garner as he gained a standing ovation from the 10,490-strong crowd.

While the West Indies were humiliated, Barath's fighting display - handling the pace and bounce of the Gabba far better than kingpins Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul - gave the embattled tourists something to smile about. It was a far cry from his 20-ball duck in the first innings of the tour match against Queensland.

But when he fell for a magnificent 104 - including 20 boundaries - in the final session yesterday, the end was nigh for the tourists.

Man-of-the-match Ben Hilfenhaus (3-20), spinner Nathan Hauritz (2-40) and Watson (2-44) helped bowl out the Windies for 187 in their second dig after Ricky Ponting enforced a surprise follow-on.

As he did in the first innings when he took 2-50, former brickie's labourer Hilfenhaus reduced the heart of theWest Indies batting to rubble in the second dig. He claimed the prize scalps of Gayle (one) and Chanderpaul (two), as well as first-innings anchorman Travis Dowlin (four).

- AAP