“If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly”. Thus spoke one Scottish leader – with the help of Shakespeare – for whom things did not quite work out has planned. No, it was not Preston Mommsen, their cricket captain, but he may have entertained such thoughts in Hobart when pitched against the mighty Australians.
Mommsen would have batted first, which was always likely to lead to a short game, if only to spare his bowlers recently battered by the Sri Lankans on this ground. In fact, Michael Clarke put the Scots in. Having seen a dodgy forecast he wanted the swiftest route to victory; Australia needed to win this game to ensure second place in their group and to avoid South Africa in the quarter-finals.
In essence, the Australians were fighting the weather – and they won. Scotland were bowled out for 130 in 25 overs, and although the rain intruded inconveniently, the Australians won by seven wickets with 34.4 overs to spare. The job was done swiftly enough, although the locals would have preferred to see the Australians bat for fifty overs.
The Scots were exposed by the Australian pacemen. Once again Mitchell Starc was the pick of them, extracting pace and bounce from an admirably lively Hobart pitch. Occasionally he swung the ball as well. At the moment no-one in the tournament is bowling better than Starc, who finished with 4-14. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
Five Scottish batsmen were dismissed for a duck. Only Calum Macleod, Matt Machan, Josh Davey and Michael Leask could reach double figures in a curious innings. In between the wickets there were boundaries galore – 21 in total.
Australia juggled their order in an attempt to ensure that all their batsmen are in good form now that the serious stuff is finally around the corner. Michael Clarke came out to open the batting, and despite being discomforted by a first ball bouncer, struck a breezy run-a-ball 47. Aaron Finch made 20 from just 10 balls, while Shane Watson, restored to the number three slot – presumably for one night only – made 24.
The tournament now begins in earnest for Australia. It is all over for the Scots and most of them will depart disappointed, pondering what might have been, except perhaps Davey. He snatched another wicket, his 15th of the tournament, which makes him the highest wicket-taker in a World Cup among associate bowlers, surpassing Eddo Brandes in 1992.
