Australia cruised to their 20th successive World Cup win at the expense of an understrength Sri Lanka yesterday to make almost certain of topping the Super Eights table.
Sri Lanka's stop-start 226 all out proved inadequate - Nathan Bracken taking four for 19 - as Ricky Ponting (66 not out) led his team home in an unbroken century stand alongside Andrew Symonds (63 not out), with seven wickets and more than seven overs to spare.
This match between two teams already through to the semi-finals was always likely to be a phoney war at Queen's Park.
So it proved as Sri Lanka rested two linchpin bowlers in Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas - with another, Lasith Malinga, still recovering from sore ankle ligaments - and a better-staffed Australia duly upheld the form book.
Sri Lanka chose to bat first but twice lost a clutch of untimely wickets.
Either side of a 140-run stand between Mahela Jayawardene (72) and Chamara Silva (64), three fell for one run and then five more for just 17.
The upshot was a total that owed almost all its substance to the fourth-wicket pair - who nonetheless failed to finish the job. Sri Lanka went from 26 for none to 27 for three in the space of 13 balls - before the captain and Silva stopped the rot and re-established the momentum so impressively.
In contrast Aussie openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist raced to 76 in just 12 overs. The two left-handers went within three runs of one another, though - to the part-time off-spin of Russel Arnold.
Hayden chipped a catch to midwicket, and Gilchrist was lbw pushing forward.
Ponting and Michael Clarke had to start again but kept their team ahead of the game until the number four fell to Malinga Bandara's leg-spin, driving a low catch to extra-cover.
Ponting and Symonds were almost entirely untroubled thereafter, however, to close out the match quickly and leave their travel manager at liberty to confirm flights for a St Lucia semi-final next week - against a fourth-placed team that is highly unlikely to be Sri Lanka.
SRI LANKA
W Tharanga c Hayden b Bracken6
S Jayasuriya lbw b Bracken12
K Sangakkara lbw b McGrath0
D Jayawardene st Gilchrist b Hogg72
L Silva c Clarke b Hogg64
T Dilshan c Hodge b Tait7
R Arnold b Tait3
M Maharoof c Symonds b Bracken25
K Kulasekara c Hayden b Bracken1
C Bandara c Hogg b McGrath17
C Fernando not out0
Extras lb5 w11 nb3 pens 019
... -----
Total (49.4 overs)226
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-27, 3-27, 4-167, 5-174, 6-178, 7-183, 8-184, 9-218.
Bowling: Bracken 9.4-3-19-4; Tait 10-0-68-2; McGrath 9-1-48-2; Hogg 10-0-35-2; Symonds 3-0-15-0; Clarke 8-0-36-0.
AUSTRALIA
A Gilchrist lbw b Arnold30
M Hayden c Dilshan b Arnold41
R Ponting not out66
M Clarke c Dilshan b Bandara23
A Symonds not out63
Extras (w4 nb5)9
... -----
Total 3 wkts (42.4 overs)232
Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-79, 3-126.
Did not bat: M Hussey, B Hodge, G Hogg, N Bracken, S Tait, G McGrath.
Bowling: Fernando 6-1-36-0; Maharoof 7-0-52-0; Kulasekara 4-0-20-0; Arnold 4-0-20-2; Bandara 9.4-0-53-1; Jayasuriya 6-0-32-0; Dilshan 6-0-19-0.
Australia won by seven wickets
