THE Australians, despite being desperately short of match practice, completely overwhelmed a makeshift Scottish side in Glasgow yesterday, when at last, a window in the weather enabled what should have been the third and turned out to be the first of five scheduled one-day encounters to be played.
The delay of the game, which should have taken place on Sunday, depleted the Scottish squad with several players unavailable through work commitments and John Blain and Craig Wright still unfit.
But in the early stages it seemed that the Scots could spring a surprise when, after George Salmond had won the toss and put the tourists in to bat, Asim Butt had Dene Hills caught at slip for a duck in his first over.
A second wicket was soon to be claimed by the left-arm medium pacer when Mike Di Venuto, the Australian captain, was safely held in the gully with only nine on the board.
This dismissal, however, proved to be the last success for the Scottish bowlers as Mike Hussey and Damien Martyn first re-trenched and then blossomed.
Once Butt and James Brinkley had retired from the attack, the two Australian batsmen took control. Although it took them 16 overs to bring up the 50, thereafter, they flayed the Scottish bowlers unmercifully.
It needed only a further seven overs to hoist the 100 and as both batsmen raced to half centuries and beyond, the 200 was raised in the 37th over.
The Scottish bowling became disappointingly wayward and a scoring rate of five-plus an over soon rose to seven as both Martyn and Hussey plundered overpitched deliveries and long hops with equal aplomb.
Martyn's hundred came after he had faced 134 balls, 12 fours and a flat-batted six over mid-on helping him on his way and he was soon followed by his partner to the three-figure mark.
The left-handed Hussey, who has found runs difficult to come by during a stint as professional for Ferguslie, playing with increasing freedom and adventure needed only 123 balls to reach his century, hitting four sixes and seven boundaries on the way. In all, they added a massive 304 for the third wicket as Australia reached a 50-over total of 313 for two.
Scotland's openers, Iain Philip and Douglas Lockhart, responded bravely adding 66 for the first wicket in 22 overs before Philip picked up a short ball from Colin Miller, only to hit it straight to deep square leg having scored 28. Lockhart followed soon after, bowled round his legs by left-arm spinner Brad Young's first ball.
Two more wickets for Miller and another for Young, turned the screw and despite some late resistance from Ian Stanger with 24, the Scots had little more to offer and capitulated to 164 for 8 at the end of their 50 overs.
The teams now travel to Linlithgow for the second of their three-day 'mini-tests' starting today.
Australia A 313-2 (D Martyn 155no, M Hussey 136no, Butt 2-31).
Scotland 164-8 (I Philip 28, Miller 3-24, Young 3-31).