West Indies, in a match they had to win by 24 runs to reach the semi-finals were bowled out for just 105 at the Beausejour Stadium. Australia, in reply, lost two wickets on 31.

But Brad Haddin (42) saw Australia to the verge of victory before he got out with two runs needed to West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

The occasional off-spinner then ended the match with a ball that went for five wides, a delivery that summed up his team’s performance on the day.

Australia, who finished on 109 for four, won with 22 balls to spare. Their win ensured Sri Lanka, last year’s losing finalists, also went through to the semi-finals as Group F runners-up.

England will play Sri Lanka, who earlier Tuesday knocked out India with a five-wicket win, in the first semi-final here on Thursday. The second semi-final will see Australia playing defending champions Pakistan, also at Beausejour, on Friday. The final takes place at Barbados’s Kensington Oval on Sunday.

West Indies, who saw Gayle win the toss, suffered a dramatic collapse.

From the relative safety of 52 for two, they lost their next five wickets for 25 runs as they slumped to 77 for five. Only Ramnaresh Sarwan (26) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24) made it past 20.

Australia leg-spinner Steven Smith, the man-of-the-match, took two wickets in two balls on his way to figures of three wickets for 20 runs as West Indies failed to sparkle under the Beausejour floodlights.

West Indies’ star batsman Gayle was out second ball, clean bowled by left-arm quick Dirk Nannes, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.

Then the experienced Chanderpaul, having flicked Mitchell Johnson’s second and fifth balls for four was out to the left-arm quick’s sixth. The left-handed batsman launched Johnson high over the bowler’s head but didn’t quite time his shot and David Hussey, running back from mid-on, took a superbly judged catch.

The slump really took hold in unlucky fashion when all-rounder Dwayne Bravo (six) was run out, backing up, after Johnson touched a Sarwan drive onto the stumps at the bowler’s end. Smith then got in on the act as recalled batsman Narsingh Deonarine holed out for a duck, caught by Michael Hussey at deep midwicket.

And he followed up with two wickets in two balls. Kieron Pollard (13) tried to work the ball legside but was beaten by the turn and wicketkeeper Haddin completed a neat stumping.

Next ball Darren Sammy, in front of his St Lucia home crowd, chipped a simple return catch back to Smith. Jerome Taylor survived the hat-trick.

Sarwan, the last of the specialist batsmen, tried to clear long-off but simply holed out off part-time spinner David Hussey to David Warner.

In reply, Warner made a typically brisk 25 off 12 balls before he edged paceman Taylor to Gayle at slip. And next ball 31 for one became 31 for two when Watson gloved an intended sweep off left-arm spinner Benn onto his stumps.

Clarke helped Haddin add 47 for the third wicket before he was brilliantly run out by Bravo, after an athletic stop and direct hit from short third man. But that was an all too rare highlight for the West Indies.

Windies were bowled out in their first innings for 228 which lasted for only 63 overs. Ricky Ponting enforced the follow on and the Windies were again bowled out cheaply with their second innings lasting hardly two sessions. Ben Hilfenhaus was named as the Man of the Match for taking a total of five wickets.

Australia added about 160 runs on the second day before declaring their innings just before Tea. Marcus North, the overnight batsman went onto score 79 while Nathan  Hauritz scored a maiden fifty. Windies started in a rapid manner smashing 41 on the board in the six overs before Tea but after the break lost their way totally. Hilfenhaus got rid of a dangerous Gayle on 31 which began a batting collapse. The other pacers followed him and Windies found themselves at 96 for 5 inside 30 overs.

The Australian bowlers got good pace off the wicket which caused the downfall of the West Indian batsman. Chanderpaul was one of them as an inswinger from Siddle skidded through to strike the pad in a shuffle across the stumps.

Michael Hussey scored 66 and Michael Clarke, Marcus North hit 40s to further consolidate the hosts. At stumps on Day 1, Australia have Marcus North on 42 along with wicket keeper Brad Haddin who is on 9.  Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets to be the most successful bowler of the day.

The West Indies Squad has a couple of exciting new names in Adrian Bharath and fast bowler Kemar Roach. Adrian Bharath from Trinidad and Tobago played in a sensational fashion in the recent Champions League T20 in India. He showed enough flashes of his brilliant batting to earn a place in the West Indies team. Kemar Roach on the other hand has been in the West Indies team which was weakened by the players boycott. Roach created jitters in the Champions Trophy in South Africa by clocking consistently around 150 kmph.

The 3-Test Series in Australia begins from the 26th of this month. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth will be hosting those three Tests.

West Indies Test Squad for Australia : Chris Gayle (Captain), Adrian Barath, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin (Wicket Keeper), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, , Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor and Gavin Tonge