'It was important that we get to the final' - Lara

Brian Lara was guarded in his praise after West Indies swept to a three-wicket victory over Australia that clinched their place in Sunday's final. While he was impressed with his bowlers' efforts early on, and understandably delighted with the manner in which he and Chris Gayle clattered the bowling to all parts, there was also a tinge of concern at the late stutter that nearly allowed Australia a route back into the contest.

"There were a couple of errors that were a bit worrying," he said after the game. "I think we did pretty well in the first 20 overs but Australia still had two recognised batsmen in [Michael] Hussey and [Brad] Haddin. We thought the score would be 175 or 225, but they batted well. Our batting department had a hiccup as well but we've got some time now till the final and hopefully will get some good practice."

Lara and Gayle lashed out after a slow start, taking 151 from 19.3 overs. Stuart Clark suffered the most, going for a whopping 87 from his seven overs. Lara insisted though they hadn't targeted Clark as a weak link. "The way Chris bats, he plays as he sees it," he said. "Someone's got to go at some stage, and Clark happened to be the unlucky one. We knew we had to keep scoring at five or more runs an over throughout. We were a bit behind at the beginning and Chris accelerated in the middle overs."

Gayle, a man of few words, was suitably concise when asked about his tactics. "I tried not to give away my wicket and decided to stick around so that things will come easy at the end," he said. "I'm a slow starter, I take a couple of overs, but if the ball is in the slot I'll definitely take advantage of it."

The loss of four wickets for 13 runs late on created a flutter, but Lara continued to repose faith in his middle order. "I have confidence in my players and I feel that it's going to come right," he said. "[Dwayne] Bravo took his time to get in and batted very well. The likes of Wavell Hinds, Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels have scored runs [before]. So I expect them to come good, their confidence is sure to grow and the guys will knit together and get things going for us."

He was clearly pleased with his own innings, a dazzling 80-ball 87 that ended only with an injudicious hook at Brett Lee. "I played each ball on its merit," he said. "A bad ball is a bad ball, a good ball is a good ball, you've got to respect that. I didn't see any need to create shots."

For Michael Hussey, his first game as captain ended badly, though he did have the consolation of scoring a sparkling century. "I'm really disappointed at the moment with the loss," he said. "We had a great chance today to win and go into the final. We haven't done that. Tonight, when I go back and reflect, I'll be very pleased with scoring a hundred for Australia and having the honour of captaining my country."

According to him, indiscipline had played a major part in the reverse. "There were certainly too many sundries [extras] today, and that's something we'll have to address before the India game," Hussey said. "We've got to play well to make the final now. I thought the pitch was becoming more difficult. It was taking some spin, and was a little bit up and down. I thought we could defend 273, but we gave away too many sundries at the start."

Having come to the wicket at 64 for 4, Hussey was satisfied with the manner in which he led the recovery. "At the time I came in, we were in a little bit of trouble. I just wanted to try and resurrect the innings as much as I could, and I was lucky I found good allies in Matthew Hayden and Brad Haddin. We just wanted to try and bat as much time as we could and then kick on after that to get ourselves into a strong position. I was really happy with the way Haddin played. I think he's been threatening to make a big score, and today he played brilliantly."

There was sympathy too for Clark. "It was a probably a day that he'll want to forget, but he's a very level-headed guy, and he'll come back better and stronger," Hussey said. "There's no need to panic. He'll make some adjustments and he'll come back."

The Australians made seven changes from the side that played India, but Hussey was sure that the rotation policy had not undermined the team's chances. "The selectors had picked the teams beforehand, so we knew there were going to be some changes coming into this game," he said. "The guys that have come in haven't played much cricket. It's about us trying to play as well as we can to make the final, and also preparing the guys, because we've had such a long break, for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy."

He refused to be too critical of his top order, some of whom played recklessly to get out. "A lot of the guys haven't played a lot of cricket for some time, so we are going to be rusty," he said. "It's going to take time to get back into our batting routine. As batsmen, we need to invest some time and find our rhythm."

They will rotate the line-up once again for the India game on Friday, and then decide on a team for the final, should they make it. Lara, though, refused to accept that West Indies had come up against a weakened side. "This team is as strong as the ones that played the first two games, with the likes of Brett Lee, Hussey, Symonds and Hayden coming in. Yes, they missed Ponting and McGrath but they were favourites going into the game. It's their problem that they have too many players and don't know whom to play. But we are focusing on our team and working really hard. We are not ranked high but are working to get up there. We are very humble about it."

He also hinted at changes for the match against India on Wednesday. "We'd love to have Collymore on the park, and also Morton," he said. "We'd like to see all our 14 guys have a go. With the inconsistency in the middle order, Morton could be the one for the final. He would definitely have an opportunity on Wednesday."

Having played so poorly over the past two seasons that they have to pre-qualify for the Champions Trophy, Lara was understandably delighted about getting the better of two higher-ranked teams in the league matches. "It was important that we get to the final," he said. "We did not come here to play games and watch the final. We have a camp here for an extra week afterwards, so why not play on Sunday? To have the camp start on Thursday would have been disappointing."

Though it ended in defeat, Hussey, the popular choice on the Baggy Green website to succeed Ponting as captain, said he enjoyed the experience. "I enjoyed trying to come up with new ideas to find a wicket, or how we were going to keep it tight. I'm also lucky that I had some very experienced cricketers around me to give me some help. I enjoyed watching the way Brian Lara constructed his innings as well, and trying to play some mind-games with him. We were trying to get him to play shots in certain areas, but he played brilliantly today."

There was also advice from a familiar figure, with Ponting ferrying drinks on to the field. "A couple of times when he came on, I was desperate for some help," said Hussey. "He's very calm and doesn't worry about too many things."

And asked if he might have done anything differently, he harked back to the phase when Lara was new to the crease. "The only thing I might have changed was to bowl Brett Lee one [over] less in his first spell, and given him a chance at Brian as soon as he came in." he said. "The problem was that we got a wicket right after Brett had just finished his spell, and he was a bit tired after his first five overs."

As it turned out, even a late burst from Lee couldn't deny Lara, or West Indies. And this result, like that against India, illustrated once again why rankings mean precisely nothing when it comes to a side that can beat anyone when they're in the mood.