CRICKET : Simmons leads in record overhaul

Australia 286-9 West Indies 287-5 West Indies win by 5 wickets

Phil Simmons and Carl Hooper each hit half-centuries to pace the West Indies to a record-breaking five-wicket victory over Australia on Saturday in the fifth and final one-day international. Chasing Australia's formidable 286 for 9 on a perfect Bourda pitch and lightning-fast outfield, Jimmy Adams added an unbeaten 60 to seal the result with 16 balls to spare, giving the West Indies the five-match series 4-1.

The West Indies' score of 287 for 5 was the highest made by a team batting second, eclipsing the West Indies' own mark of 285 against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1993.

The Trinidadian Simmons and the opener Stuart Williams started the onslaught in a stand of 89 runs for the second wicket in just 13 overs. Simmons hammered 21 runs off one over from the left-arm fast bowler Brendon Julian, and the crowd was treated to a volley of boundaries.

A strained groin during his innings which forced him to use a runner never seemed to bother the muscular Simmons and he registered his second successive 50 off just 36 balls.

When Williams was caught and bowled by medium pacer Mark Waugh for 45, including six fours and a six, the West Indies were 108 for 2 in the 16th over.

FIFTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL (Georgetown, Guyana): Australia 286 for 9 (50 overs; M E Waugh 70, M A Taylor 66); West Indies 287 for 5 (47.2 overs; P V Simmons 70, J C Adams 60, C L Hooper 50).