Australia continued their dominant run of form by sweeping another limited overs series - their fifth in succession since the start of 2018. They thrashed West Indies 3-0, handing the hosts their first home series whitewash in 16 years.
Meg Lanning, who successfully recovered from back issues in time for the third ODI, was naturally very pleased with the way things panned out for her side through the ODI series. Australia, who have often had trouble closing out series, made sure to put in an equally dominant display on Wednesday (September 11).
"Yeah, it is great. We spoke heading to the ground today that we (should) go about our job well, sticking to our game plan and the way we want to go about it," she said.
"I think in the past we haven’t finished off series as well as we’d have liked and we’ve let teams back in. We’ve got that dominant nature now where we want to make sure we don’t let them back in and we keep playing the way we want to. And the good thing is we’ve got so many different contributors, everyone is eager to do well."
Unlike the first two matches, Australia fielded first in the final ODI against West Indies. A change of skill however, did little to improve West Indies fortunes. Australia rollicked home on the back of a Megan Schutt hat-trick and scintillating half-centuries from Alyssa Healy and Lanning.
"We bowled first too today which was different to first couple off games. I thought we bowled pretty well. Obviously Schutt with the hat-trick there at the end was great. Then, to finish off so dominantly with the bat is really pleasing as well."
Through the course of the series, Australia showed that they were not over reliant on individual performances to get them over the line. During various stages of the the series, all those who got the opportunity made sure to make it count. While Ellyse Perry and Healy were the standout performers, the likes of Lanning, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Megan Schutt, Georgia Wareham and even Tayla Vlaeminck put in consistent performances contributing to the team's success.
During her unbeaten half-century that helped Australia get over the line at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Wednesday, Lanning became Australia's highest run-getter across formats, surpassing Karen Rolton's tally of 6221 runs. She reached the milestone in one less outing than the legendary left hander, taking 169 matches to get there.
"Rolts is a superstar of the game, she was incredible to watch and was an incredible player, so it’s a nice accolade to get," said the 27-year-old. "I haven’t given it too much thought but to go past someone who was so good is special."
With ODI series under their belt Australia's next target is the T20I series that begins on Saturday (September 14). Despite their unchallenged dominance in the ODI format, the tourists are aware of the threat West Indies could pose in the shortest format.
"They are a very dangerous in the T20 format," Lanning said of the hosts. "They showed at times during this ODI series too that when they do get on the front foot they can be very dangerous. We are expecting a good competition and we know we are going to have to play well (to beat them)."
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