Clarke is happy his team is shaping up well ahead of the quarters.
© Getty Images
Hobart: Australia captain Michael Clarke was a happy man after his side warmed up for next week's World Cup quarter-final in Adelaide with a straightforward seven-wicket win over Scotland in Hobart on Saturday. (Full Coverage )
In what was a last Pool A match for both teams, Australia dismissed Scotland for just 130 at Bellerive Oval after Clarke won the toss, with Mitchell Starc taking four for 14 to leave the left-arm paceman top of the tournament bowling charts with 16 wickets. (Australia, India Win; Now it's Knife-Edge Sunday )
Australia, with Clarke making a run-a--ball 47 after he promoted himself to open in order to have some batting practice, finished on 133 for three in just 15.2 overs. (Australia Rout Scotland to Take Second Place in Pool A )
"Our bowlers did a great job to bowl Scotland out, and our batters put the team first," said Clarke.
"It's always nice to win -- I don't think there's any better preparation than winning." (Starc Looks to Carry on Sparkling Form )
As for Australia's chances of winning a fifth World Cup title and first on home soil, Clarke added: "Now it's the knockout stages. We need to play at our best and I think if we do, we can win."
For Scotland, their sixth straight loss of this tournament meant they'd now been beaten in all 14 of their World Cup matches, a run spanning three editions.
"We knew it was always going to be a tough game for us, and unfortunately it wasn't to be," said Scotland captain Preston Mommsen.
"We take a huge amount of positives from the past six games, and we leave the World Cup a better team."
There was some consolation for the non-Test side in that Scotland seamer Josh Davey bowed out with an impressive 15 wickets at an average of just over 20 apiece.
"We're very proud of Josh Davey -- taking 15 wickets is an awesome achievement," added Mommsen. "Our focus now turns to qualifying for the World T20."
0 comments:
Post a Comment