Australia annihilated Ireland yesterday by nine wickets in Bridgetown. In front of what must surely have been the biggest crowd of the tournament - a mystery free tickets and the expectation among many that Pakistan would be here go only part way to explaining - the Irish soon found themselves in dire straits and matters did not improve.

Shaun Tait and Glenn McGrath set about them with the new ball and they recovered after a fashion to make 91 thanks only to Australia taking the foot off the gas and double-figure contributions from Kevin O'Brien with 16, Trent Johnston, with 17 against his compatriots, and John Mooney, last out for 23.

Ireland managed only seven boundaries as Tait, wickedly fast but erratic at times, took three for 39, McGrath added to his record World Cup tally with three for 17, and Stuart Clark - given an outing at the expense of Nathan Bracken - Brad Hogg and Andrew Symonds, took a wicket apiece.

Tait's direct hit from mid-off to get rid of Mooney completed the innings.

In reply, Australia, keen to give the underused Mike Hussey some batting, sent him in first with Adam Gilchrist.

After he had scored 34, Gilchrist's was the only wicket to fall - Johnston at least gaining some personal satisfaction by bowling his compatriot Gilchrist

Andrew Symonds was then dropped by Bray off John Mooney's medium pace but that was as good as it got for the Irish bowling as Symonds (15) joined Hussey (30) to see Australia past the target with more than 37 overs to spare.

The win gives the Australians 10 points from the second-stage Super Eights. They also became the first team to ensure their last-four qualification, and it is getting harder not to conclude that this entire tournament has been set up to Australian specification for securing their third successive triumph.

With the way the competition has been panning out, it still looks likely that Sri Lanka and New Zealand will contest the semi-finals, and one of them perhaps the final, to be played here on April 28th.

Should Australia, as expected, make the final, their match yesterday, although the only one they are playing in Barbados before moving on to Grenada, offered them an advantage over Sri Lanka and New Zealand, neither of whom would have previous first-hand experience of this surface.

Yesterday's pitch, given the way in which the new ball went through for the England pace bowlers previously against Bangladesh, promised to give the Ireland batsmen a torrid time, and once Ricky Ponting had won the toss and put them in to bat, they were not disappointed.

McGrath clipped the off stump of Jeremy Bray in his opening over, and by the time he took his second wicket in his third, Tait had trapped William Porterfield lbw with an inswinger that would have taken leg stump, and Niall O'Brien first ball - 12 for four against Australia leaves little room for recovery. And Kevin O'Brien came within a whisker of edging the hat-trick ball.

• Guardian Service