• This was the 2011th match in ODI history.
• This was West Indies’ 467th and Australia’s 535th match in ODI history.
• This was the 99th meeting between the two sides. The record now reads : Australia 44, West Indies 52,tied two and abandoned one.
• This was the 24th meeting between the two sides in the Caribbeans. The record now reads : Australia 12, West Indies 11, tied one.
• Omari Banks, Carlton Baugh and Devon Smith were making their ODI debut. West Indies have now played 114 players in the ODIs.
• Australia became first country after the hosts West Indies to win more matches than they have lost in the Caribbeans. West Indies, of course, have the best record in the Caribbeans winning 69 and losing only 32 out of a total of 106 (with 2 tied and 3 abandoned matches).
• Australia’s win by 2 runs equals the narrowest margin of victory for a side in the Caribbeans. West Indies had beaten England by an identical margin at Kingstown on 04-02-1981.
• This was the fourth time West Indies were losing a match by two runs. Their narrowest defeat, however, was recorded at Sharjah on 21-10-1991 when they were beaten by Pakistan by one run. This was also the second time West Indies lost a match by two runs against Australia. The first instance was at Melbourne on 14-01-1989.
• This was Australia’s eighth consecutive win over the West Indies since the World Cup game at Old Trafford on 30-05-1999.
• Australia extended their world record sequence of consecutive wins to 17. They have not lost a single match since losing to Sri Lanka by 79 runs at Sydney on 09-01-2003.
• The Man of the match award was 16th for Ricky Ponting in his 169th match. This was also his second successive award after winning the award in World Cup final against India.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)