Beau Casson

Bridgetown: Australia won the third and final Test against the West Indies on Monday by 87 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory.

The West Indies put up a brave fight on the fifth day before finally being dismissed for 387.

Resuming on 235 for three, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo made good progress before both were dismissed just before lunch with the score on 303.

After lunch, Jerome Taylor made a spirited 31, his highest score in Tests and then injured Sewnarine Chattergoon hobbled out to bat with a runner in a bid to keep the chase hope alive.

But after Mitchell Johnson got Taylor caught behind and then Brett Lee did the same for Chattergoon, Ricky Ponting’s side were assured of their victory.

The West Indies resumed requiring 240 runs with seven wickets remaining and Chanderpaul and Bravo set about the task in just the right fashion, patiently adding runs while taking few risks.

With the crowd filling up in anticipation of a possible upset, there were some signs of consternation among the Australians as the hosts passed the 300 mark without the loss of a further wicket, particularly given Chanderpaul’s record in this series.

The Guyanese batsman had made two centuries against the tourists in this series and once again he looked well set for a marathon innings. But it was Casson who had the last laugh as Bravo pushed defensively and prodded it into the hands of Jaques.