Aussies rip apart Namibia in W/Cup

POTCHEFSTROOM: Australia qualified for the World Cup Super Sixes in emphatic style yesterday, crushing Namibia by 256 runs amid a flurry of world records.

The world champions sealed a record-equalling 11th straight one-day international victory by the largest ever winning margin, Glenn McGrath producing the best World Cup bowling figures of seven for 15 as Namibia were routed for 45. The match was a statistician’s dream with records tumbling as frequently as Namibian batsmen in the sunshine. Australia captain Ricky Ponting was happy with his side’s record-breaking performance, which confirmed they will finish top of Group A. “It’s a sign of a very good team full of some great individual players,” Ponting told reporters. “Some of those players got records (yesterday) and that shows a lot about the quality of players on our team and the strength of the side.”

Darren Lehmann smashed a World Cup record 28 runs in the final over of Australia’s innings to lift his side to a total of 301 for six, while Adam Gilchrist took six catches to equal the best haul by a wicketkeeper in one-day internationals. Lehmann’s big-hitting brought him 50 from only 31 balls and inflicted on Rudi van Vuuren the fourth worst bowling figures in one-day history as he finished with no wicket for 92 runs from 10 overs. Lehmann clubbed 4, 4, 4, 6, 4 and 6 from the medium-pacer’s last over to take Australia past 300. His effort improved the previous World Cup best in an over, the 26 plundered by Brian Lara off Canada’s Barry Seebaran only last week.

The Namibia batsmen were humiliated by McGrath, who eclipsed his previous best figures in one-day internationals, the five for 14 he captured against West Indies at the 1999 World Cup. Only West Indies fast bowler Winston Davis, with seven for 51 against Australia at Headingley in 1983, had previously taken seven wickets in a World Cup innings. The experienced Australian pacer’s figures were the second best in one-day international history, inferior only to the eight for 19 recorded by Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas against Zimbabwe in 2001. At least Namibia, in its first World Cup, had the small consolation of passing the previous lowest score in the World Cup, the 36 made by Canada against Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament. Before Lehmann’s cameo, Matthew Hayden (88) and Andrew Symonds (59) took the chance to get some time in the middle before the Super Sixes.