Australia vs. Scotland: Highlights, Scorecard, Report from Cricket World Cup

Australia secured second place in Pool A as they wrapped up their World Cup group-stage campaign with a seven-wicket victory over Scotland at the Bellerive Oval on Saturday.

Michael Clarke, who won the toss and elected to field in Hobart, saw his side dismiss the Associate Nation for only 130 in 25.4 overs.

"

130 all out for @CricketScotland inside 26 overs after being sent in to bat: #CWC15… http://t.co/0vsQ8WgcmD pic.twitter.com/Mfvnko1M5h

— LiveSport.co.uk (@UkSportsTvGuide) March 14, 2015"

They reached their target from only 15.2 overs, although a 90-minute break for rain had the co-hosts sweating.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	4s	6s
Clarke	c Leask	b Wardlaw	47	55	47	7	2
Finch	c Coleman	b Taylor	20	13	10	3	1
Watson	c Cross	b Davey	24	36	23	4	0
Faulkner	not out		16	10	6	2	1
Warner	not out		21	9	6	2	2
Extras		0nb 3w 0b 2lb	5
Bowler			Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Wardlaw			5	0	57	1
Taylor			5	0	29	1
Davey			5	1	38	1
Leask			0.2	0	7	0

A second wash-out of the group stage, following the abandonment of their game with Bangladesh, would have meant Australia finishing in third place and facing a quarter-final with South Africa.

Instead Australia will play Pakistan or Ireland, who play on Sunday, in Friday’s quarter-final in Adelaide.

"

Here are the final Pool A standings after Australia's win: http://t.co/zJ8FKv08Qe #CWC15 #fireitup pic.twitter.com/xpBIXSPWAn

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 14, 2015"

Mitchell Starc took 4-14 as Scotland suffered their sixth successive defeat.

"

ALL OUT! Starc cleans up the tail and finishes with 4-14: http://t.co/zJ8FKv08Qe #CWC15 #fireitup pic.twitter.com/Wtbc1hM1TM

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 14, 2015"

Matt Machan top-scored with 40 from 35 balls and there was a late flourish from Josh Davey (26) and Michael Leask (23), who put on 35 for the ninth wicket, but the middle order was blown away.

"

Most ODI wkts after 38 mts 77 Mitchell Starc 73 Saqlain Mushtaq 72 Shane Bond/Ajantha Mendis 70 Waqar Younis/Ajit Agarkar #CWC15 #AusvSco

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 14, 2015"

Australia were in a hurry with inclement weather lurking and Clarke, promoted to the top of the order, made a run-a-ball 47.

"

51 second wicket partnership up for @CAComms in Hobart: http://t.co/zJ8FKv08Qe #CWC15 #fireitup pic.twitter.com/IMfzAHOGO5

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 14, 2015"

The heavens opened immediately after Clarke’s dismissal but David Warner and James Faulkner completed the job at high speed when the weather relented, smashing 41 in 12 balls.

Clarke is now looking forward to the last eight, telling reporters after the match, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo:

"

Fortunately we got enough time, credit to the way the boys played. It's always nice to win. I don't think there's any better preparation for a quarterfinal. We had one little hiccup against New Zealand, but the boys are excited and looking forward to the quarterfinals. [Twitter question - can Australia go all the way?] We're about to find out. Three games, if we play our best, we can win. If we don't, we'll be on the couch watching.

"

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen took the positives from their stint in the tournament.

"

We knew it was always going to be a tough game. We wanted to stand up to the challenge. We take a huge amount of positives from the past six games. The more we've played, the better we've gotten. We leave the World Cup a much stronger team. As a team we're very proud of [Davey's] achievements, he can hold his head high. Our focus now shifts to the World T20 qualifiers, hopefully we'll be able to qualify.

"