Starc reality! West Indies shot out for 27 as pacer’s six-for leads Australia to a breezy win

Kingston: Mitchell Starc took six wickets for nine runs and Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick as Australia dismissed the West Indies for 27 — the second-lowest total ever in Test cricket — to win the third Test by 176 runs on Monday.

West Indies missed the lowest score in Test cricket by one run, due to a misfield.

Starc’s first 15 balls delivered the fastest five-wicket haul in test history, and his 15th five-wicket innings in Tests. The tall left-arm paceman took a wicket with the first ball of the West Indies’ second innings and three wickets in that first over — a triple-wicket maiden. Australia needed only 14.3 overs to rout the home team in the first day-night Test at Sabina Park and complete a 3-0 series sweep.

“It’s been a fantastic series. I think we’ve seen some difficult batting conditions throughout,” said Starc, who claimed his 400th career Rest wicket in his 100th Test, a memorable milestone. “It’s been a good few days, very enjoyable and I’ll go home with a smile on my face.”

Starc said he felt like his rhythm had been building for a month. “Today again just felt like everything was in sync,” he said. “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.”

Bowlers dominated the series and the difference was batting, with Australia

doing just enough to win the first two tests — by 159

runs in Barbados then by 133 runs in Grenada — and then sweep the Frank Worrell Trophy.

While Starc missed a hat-trick chance after dismissing Kevlon Anderson and Brandon King with consecutive deliveries, Boland completed his with the wickets of Justin Greaves, Shamar Joseph and Jomel Warrican. It was the 10th Test hat-trick by an Australian, and the first in 15 years.

West Indies were out for their lowest Test score, eclipsing the 47 against England on the same ground in 2004. At 11-6 in the sixth over it was in danger of inheriting the lowest score in test history. A misfield by 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas in the 14th over allowed West Indies to take a single and reach 27.