After the all the drama and fireworks of the opening contest earlier in the week, Australia wrapped up a T20I series win over Scotland with a victory that was a study in simplicity.
The touring party had set numerous records on their way to a crushing win on Wednesday when they lashed the Scottish bowlers all over the Grange to chase down their total within 10 overs.
This time, on a day when the haar never lifted and the sun failed to break through, Australia’s biggest adversity was the chilly conditions as Doug Watson’s side failed to lay a glove on them to go 2-0 down in the three-game series. They will have one more chance on Saturday to land a consolation victory.
The undoubted man-of-the-match on this occasion was Josh Inglis who came in at number 3 and quickly laid assault on the Scottish bowlers on his way to recording Australia’s fastest-ever T20 century.
The visitors’ total of 196 for 4 looked out of Scotland’s reach from the outset and a woeful batting display meant they never looked like getting close to it. The exception was Brandon McMullen who was an exercise in enterprise as he reached his half-century. Nobody, though, could stay with him and when he departed the jig was up, the crowd soon filing home disappointedly.
“The difference in the game was the partnership Australia had through the middle and that 100 that Josh Inglis scored which just made it really hard to pull things back,” admitted captain Richie Berrington. “But I thought Brandon batted superbly well. Unfortunately there wasn't that other batter at the other end to try and get that partnership that Australia did where we could just take the game a little bit deeper. That obviously meant we fell away a little bit towards the back end of that game.”
Travis Head had been the match-winning hero on Wednesday but lasted just one ball here, bowled by Brad Currie. Such is the capricious nature of sport.
That got Scottish hopes up but, just like in the first game when Jake Fraser-McGurk fell early, it would prove fleeting as Inglis came to the crease and began to wreak merry havoc.
The wicketkeeper coped with the conditions better than the rest, moving to his 50 off just 20 balls after lashing Mark Watt over the boundary rope and then performing the same trick – this time off Currie – to reach his second T20I century from 43 balls. When he departed for 103 when Berrington took a simple catch off the bowling of Chris Sole, it was to deserved applause from all corners of the Grange.
Sole was Scotland’s most economical bowler, going for just 17 runs in his three overs, making it a surprise that he wasn’t used for his full allocation. It was Currie, though, who most caught the eye by taking all three wickets, looking menacing throughout and enjoying some swing through the air. Sole held a cloud-scraping catch at the second attempt to get rid of Fraser-McGurk while Currie did similar to claim the wicket of Cameron Green, caught and bowled.
Australia fell just short of 200 – posting 196 from their 20 overs – and Scotland started brightly in their reply with George Munsey clubbing a couple of maximums and a boundary in a first over that went for 17 runs. Optimism, though, proved fleeting, with Michael Jones departing for just one and Munsey following him back into the Grange pavilion soon after as he mis-timed another attempted blast to go for only 19.
That placed the onus on McMullen to try to manufacture some sort of respectable run chase and the all-rounder did not stint in his endeavour as he looked to lift the tempo. He reached his half-century in 38 balls with some inventive shot-making and looked like he might well be the man to lead his team to a famous victory when he departed, Tim David taking a stunning running catch as McMullen went for another boundary.
Scotland’s chances of a shock went with him, the tail failing to wag as Australia wrapped up the series with relative ease. They will need to bat better and for longer if they are to take a win in the final dead rubber.
“I think conditions on Saturday will probably be fairly similar,” added Berrington. “But the margins for error are very small. Our execution has to be spot on. We're going to have to be good in the field and take our chances when we get them. But I think there were definitely a few improvements today that we can build on going into that last game.”
