The West Indians went into the series having not lost a series in 15 years.
1st Test at
Kensington Oval,
Bridgetown, Barbados – Australia won by 10 wickets. The tourists' underdog status was amplified by pre-Test injuries to fast bowlers
Craig McDermott and
Damien Fleming. "Still, we somehow managed to catch them on the hop", wrote
Paul Reiffel.[1] Victory was secured within 3 days.
3rd Test at
Queen's Park Oval,
Port of Spain,
Trinidad – West Indies won by 9 wickets. Having endured substantial criticism from an enraged fourth estate for their lustreless display in the First Test,
Curtly Ambrose and
Courtney Walsh, the Caribbean's last great fast-bowling pair, lifted the ante and biffed the Australians with a barrage of short-pitched bowling. It was, wrote Reiffel, "one of the greenest wickets I ever saw".[1] Steve Waugh knocked up a courageous 63 in the first innings, priming him for his legendary effort in Jamaica.[1]
4th Test at
Sabina Park,
Kingston – Australia won by an innings and 53 runs. The final Test arrived with the scoreline one-all, and the crowd came out in force. "They were noisy, knew their cricket, and could be intimidating if you gave them room", Reiffel recalled. "[T]he bowl was resounding in anticipation [...]."[1] The Australian strategy was to occupy the crease and compile as large a total as possible, fearing the fourth-innings pitch.
Steve Waugh, coming in at 73 for three, joined his brother
Mark, "batted magnificently and built a fortress strong enough to keep West Indies at bay. Mark nonchalantly scored a beautiful century before getting out, but by then he had helped Steve build a solid platform."[1] Inspired by Waugh's intrepid double century and the West Indies' depleted psychological funds, Reiffel picked up three quick wickets on the second-last evening. By the reckoning of Reiffel, it was this match – and, more specifically, Waugh's century, "one of the greatest feats of batting I ever witnessed"[1] – which signified the transition of cricketing supremacy from the
West Indies to
Australia. It also secured the Frank Worrell Trophy.