West Indies Tri-series, 2016

1 Australia 2 West Indies 3 South Africa
This tournament - combining separately planned visits by Australia and South Africa - was finely balanced from start to finish, offering fascinating matches in a range of testing conditions. The teams drew blood from each other on a slow wicket in Providence, and continued their struggle for ascendancy on the postage-stamp-sized Warner Park in Basseterre. But, on the quicker surface of Bridgetown's Kensington Oval, it was Australia who finally prevailed.

Spinners dominated the early skirmishes, but the pitches were still good enough for four excellent centuries to be made. All the sides had won and lost two when they arrived for the last qualifying round in Barbados. South Africa topped the standings on bonus points but, after a rained-off game against Australia, and a 100-run thrashing by West Indies, they were on their way home.

After dropping out of the world's top eight in September 2015, West Indies had failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy, sparking concerns about the future of 50-over cricket in the Caribbean. But, despite missing a raft of big names - including Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Darren Sammy, who had ruled themselves out by preferring Australia's BBL to their own domestic 50-over competition - the hosts were worthy of second place.

Their success was partly thanks to two returnees. Sunil Narine had been absent since being reported for a crooked arm during the one-day series with Sri Lanka in November 2015 - when he was ranked as the best whiteball bowler in the world. With a remodelled action, he had an immediate impact: a career-best six-for against South Africa. Kieron Pollard, who had not played a one-day international for 19 months, underlined his value withstrong all-round performances.

South Africa lacked batting depth, managing a big score only once, when they blitzed 343 for four against West Indies in Basseterre. There were some positives: debutant left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi showed promise, while Imran Tahir's seven for 45 in that Basseterre game was a national record. But, after their premature departure, doubts swirled around the future of head coach Russell Domingo. Already under pressure after recent failures in Test and Twenty20 cricket, he blamed his side's struggles on a heavy workload.

Australia - coached by Justin Langer while Darren Lehmann rested - entered the tournament as the world's top-ranked team, and shuffled their 16 players to suit conditions. Josh Hazlewood was particularly impressive, taking 11 wickets at a little over 20, including a decisive five in the final. They lost twice in qualifying, but their professionalism shone through. Despite West Indies' victory at the World T20, crowds were disappointing. The conclusion was worrying: 50-over cricket is joining Test cricket in generating dwindling interest in the Caribbean.

Match reports for

1st Match: West Indies v South Africa at Providence, Jun 3, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd Match: West Indies v Australia at Providence, Jun 5, 2016
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3rd Match: Australia v South Africa at Providence, Jun 7, 2016
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4th Match: Australia v South Africa at Basseterre, Jun 11, 2016
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5th Match: West Indies v Australia at Basseterre, Jun 13, 2016
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6th Match: West Indies v South Africa at Basseterre, Jun 15, 2016
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7th Match: Australia v South Africa at Bridgetown, Jun 19, 2016
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8th Match: West Indies v Australia at Bridgetown, Jun 21, 2016
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9th Match: West Indies v South Africa at Bridgetown, Jun 24, 2016
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Final: West Indies v Australia at Bridgetown, Jun 26, 2016
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