Michael Clarke featured with both bat and ball to inspire Australia to another comfortable victory over West Indies by 63 runs, under the Duckworth/Lewis method, in the second Digicel one-day international at the Grenada National Stadium, yesterday.

Clarke made a fighting 56 that lifted Australia to 213 for five from 50 overs and grabbed three wickets, as West Indies, chasing a revised target of 204 in 41 overs, were restricted to 140 for eight.

West Indies never came to terms with a pitch that was difficult for batting and handed Australia a 2-0 series lead following their 84-run in the opening match on Tuesday in St Vincent.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, returning to the team after missing the last two matches with a calf injury, hit an unbeaten 46 off 77 balls, while Daren Powell lashed 21 off 12 balls and Sulieman Benn 23 not out off 26 balls, but West Indies were badly let down by their top order.

The hosts were struggling on 58 for six in 27 overs when rain interrupted the match at 4:10 p.m., and when the action resumed at 5:05 p.m. they faced the difficult task of scoring another 146 runs in 14 overs.

They managed to prevent a complete embarra**ment, but Australia still won easily.

Poor effort

"Our overall batting effort was a poor effort. I'd say that to the guys," West Indies coach, John Dyson, told reporters. "It's hard to pin-point what has happened. I thought we did some good things in the morning. We bowled very well and fielded very well. It's just a shame in the afternoon that we batted poorly. You've seen at times through the summer the sort of cricket we can play.

"It's just a shame that we are not consistently playing that type of cricket. That's one of the problems playing against a team like Australia and also having a squad that is still improving."

The world champions enjoyed a sensational start by having Xavier Marshall caught by the tumbling wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi from the first ball of the innings.

West Indies continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. After Chris Gayle fell for 10, Andre Fletcher for 19 and Dwayne Bravo for three to leave the total on 49 for four, Clarke pressed home the advantage by cheaply dismissing Patrick Browne (1) and Kieron Pollard (0) and also added the wicket of Darren Sammy (9) after the resumption.

The left-arm spinner finished with three for 26, that followed his half-century, and earned the Man-of-the-Match award.

Impressive

Clarke and Hussey earlier featured in a fourth-wicket century partnership after coming together at 35 for three, but they never dominated proceedings.

Impressive fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Powell shared the first three wickets in nine overs, but Australia recovered through the efforts of Clarke and Hussey. The left-handed Hussey made 62 from 105 balls with two fours and a six, while Clarke carved out 56 off 98 balls with six boundaries as the pair added exactly 100 in 27 overs.

Taylor struck with the last ball of the first over, when Shane Watson was lbw without scoring to a ball that struck him on the full. Powell, who replaced Fidel Edwards in the team, bowled magnificently to concede only 29 runs in his 10 overs. During his first spell, he had Shaun Marsh caught by wicketkeeper Patrick Browne for 12 as the opener tried to run a ball to third-man.

Taylor tightened West Indies' grip when he dismissed Australia captain Ricky Ponting for 13 on his 300th One-Day International appearance. It was the sixth time this season that Taylor had dislodged Ponting, who fell to a low catch by captain Chris Gayle at short-wicket.

The start of play was delayed by 15 minutes before the problems in switching the sightscreen to a black background. A similar problem that held up the match for a further five minutes, occurred at the opposite end in the sixth over.

The teams meet in the third match of the series at the same venue tomorrow