Matthew Hayden belted an unbeaten 87 to guide Australia to a seven-wicket win in the third cricket Test yesterday and a 3-0 sweep of the series against the West Indies
Australia resumed at 76 for two and scored steadily until Mike Hussey (30 not out) hit the winning runs soon after the lunch interval on the last day at the Adelaide Oval.
The Australians won the first Test by 379 runs and the second by nine wickets and have improved to 12-1 in the last 13 Test matches against the West Indies.
Hayden, voted player of the series after scoring 445 runs at an average of 89, was 13 runs short of becoming only the third batsman to post hundreds in five consecutive Test matches.
Only Sir Donald Bradman and South Africa's Jacques Kallis have achieved that milestone.
In the first innings, West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara scored 226 and surpassed former Australia skipper Allan Border as the most prolific runscorer in Test cricket. He now has 11,204 runs from 121 Test matches -- 30 runs more than Border amassed in 156 Tests.
The 36-year-old Lara was named man of the match for scoring his eighth double-hundred in Tests, which helped West Indies to 405 in the first innings.
Hayden congratulated Lara, saying he gave other batsmen something to aspire to. He also regretted the record he missed.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said his squad had regrouped well since the Ashes series to win four consecutive Tests -- one against the World XI and three against the West Indies.
"We had three commanding wins in the end. We had a few wrongs to right after the Ashes tour and I think we have made a few steps into making ourselves a better cricket team," Ponting said.
Hussey, after just three Tests, has established himself in the batting lineup. He scored 361 runs in two Tests as a replacement opener for Justin Langer and two innings at No. 5 after Michael Clarke and Simon Katich were dropped. His average is 120, including two centuries.
Brad Hodge scored a half century on debut.
"It has been pleasing to see some of the less experienced players come into the side and perform very well, Hussey has been great over the last couple of Tests, Hodge has looked very much at home at Test level," he said.
The Australian limited-overs team leaves today to prepare for three one-day internationals in New Zealand, and the Test team next faces South Africa.
Ponting said the West Indies, ranked a lowly eighth after leading the world in the 1970s and 80s, had improved with every Test on tour and had the potential for vast improvement in future.
Australia needed only 106 runs to win on the last day after Shane Warne took 6-80 and Brett Lee snared 4-46 to contain the West Indies' second innings to 204 on Monday, giving Australia a victory target of 182 with four sessions to play.
Brad Hodge (23) was the only wicket to fall yesterday, caught at gully by Dwayne Smith off Daren Powell's bowling after a 55-run partnership with Hayden.
Earlier yesterday, Cricket Australia announced that legspinner Shane Warne was found not guilty of dissent after a hearing with match referee Mike Procter.
Warne was reported by umpires Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden for his reaction when his appeal for a catch against Powell was rejected in the last over on Sunday.
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