Cricket: Australia beat Scotland by 200 runs

AUSTRALIA convincingly beat Scotland by 200 runs Tuesday in their one-off ODI after an outstanding partnership between centurions Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh.
Scotland's Gordon Goudie (left) catches Shane Watson out from Iain Wardlaw's (8) ball but Australia won convincingly. Picture: SNSScotland's Gordon Goudie (left) catches Shane Watson out from Iain Wardlaw's (8) ball but Australia won convincingly. Picture: SNS
Scotland's Gordon Goudie (left) catches Shane Watson out from Iain Wardlaw's (8) ball but Australia won convincingly. Picture: SNS

The Australians, searching for a boost of confidence after their Ashes loss in England in July and August, lay a perfect foundation after they were sent in to bat by stand-in Scottish skipper Preston Mommsen. In the best opening stand for Australia in ODI history, Finch and Marsh put on 246 runs together as the Scotland bowlers only managed three wickets in 50 overs. Marsh (151) played a measured and disciplined innings, while Finch took to a more brash approach to dealing with the Scottish attack, scoring 148 off 146 balls.

Australia finished with 362-3 and then bowled Scotland out for 162.

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The meeting at the Grange was being used by Darren Lehmann’s team - currently ranked second in the ICC’s one-day rankings - as a warm-up for their five-match series with England that starts on Friday at Headingley.

Having failed to regain the Ashes with a 3-0 Test series defeat before sharing the two Twenty20 clashes that followed, the flagging Aussies were in desperate need of a morale-boosting victory.

But defeat was never a prospect as their top-order batsmen simply blew Scotland away.

The tone for victory was set by Finch, who continued on from his record-breaking Twenty20 knock of 156 against England last week by grabbing his maiden 50-over century.

The Victoria batsman struck 14 sixes in his world-record score against England last Thursday in Southampton and did not slow up today as he sped to 148 from just 116 balls before being caught in the deep by Freddie Coleman off Majid Haq.

The pair had put on 246 for the opening wicket - an Australia record - and Marsh then took up the scoring responsibilities by pushing beyond Finch’s figure to end on 151 as Iain Wardlaw tempted him to slog into Gordon Goudie’s grasp.

The same combination accounted for Shane Watson on 37 as the Scots claimed their second wicket in as many balls but the Australians already had 347 on the board.

Michael Clarke (four) and George Bailey (10) batted out the final two overs to set up an improbable run chase.

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Coleman fell for a duck early before Hamish Gardiner went for a single, while Watson ran out Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen for eight.

Machan and Calum MacLeod (24) helped add a touch of respectability to the score before Haq (25) eventually prodded Scotland into three figures.

With little to lose, Scotland continued to let their shots go and Goudie (23) raised a couple of cheers with two huge sixes.

But Mitchell Johnson (four for 36) cleaned bowled Gordon Drummond for eight to claim his fourth wicket and end a painful day for the hosts.