Defending champion Australia crushed Ireland by nine wickets Friday afternoon to guarantee a place in the final four at the Cricket World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Ireland was bowled out for only 91 runs in 30 overs, and Australian openers Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey, batting up the order to give him time at the crease, put on 62 for the first wicket.

Australia's Shaun Tait bowls over Ireland in Thursday's rout.
(Andres Leighton/Associated Press)

Gilchrist was bowled for 34 by Ireland captain Trent Johnston, who danced a jig of delight at getting the prized wicket.

Andrew Symonds and Hussey knocked off the rest of the runs in the face of an Ireland bowling attack that performed poorly, even by its own standards.

Australia reached the paltry target in only 12.2 overs, with Hussey pulling the final ball for six to finish 30 not out.

The victory gives Australia a maximum 10 points from five matches and means it will play in one of the two semifinals, either in St. Lucia or Jamaica.

Australia won the toss at the Kensington Oval and put Ireland in to bat.

Pace bowler Shaun Tait grabbed two wickets in two balls but had a decidedly mixed day, bowling wildly and giving away 11 wides.

He was eventually taken out of the attack by captain Ricky Ponting.

Veteran Glenn McGrath was the pick of the bowlers, plugging away with his nagging off-stump line and taking three for 17 from seven overs.

Number nine batsman John Mooney, drafted in to replace Peter Gillespie, showed real fight to finish as Ireland's top scorer before he was last man out on 23, run out trying to keep the strike in the 30th over.

Ireland has yet to win a Super 8s match and is last in the standings with no points.

It reached the Super 8s by upsetting Pakistan in the group round.

Easy pickings for Aussies

The Australians had been expected to make light work of Ireland, and McGrath struck with only the sixth ball of the match.

He bowled opener Jeremy Bray with a superb, inswinging delivery with just one run on the board.

Tait began his second over in spectacular fashion, trapping William Porterfield leg before wicket for one and then clean bowling wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien with his next ball, leaving Ireland in deep trouble on two for three.

However, it all then fell apart from Tait.

The rest of the over saw two wides and two fours struck by O'Brien's brother, Kevin.

Tait continued bowling wides to leg and off in his next over and was taken off by Ponting, who didn't help his bowler much by dropping Kevin O'Brien at third slip.

A second spell saw Tait take another wicket, but he continued to be wayward.

McGrath rejoined the action, having Eoin Morgan caught at second slip for a duck with the score on 12.

Kevin O'Brien showed resilience, striking three fours but Andrew White was felled by a McGrath bouncer which hit the grill of his helmet.

White needed medical attention and had an over's rest.

In McGrath's next over, he lasted only one ball before lobbing a tame catch to Brad Hogg at mid off and Ireland was 32 for five in the 11th over.

Ireland captain Trent Johnston, an Australian-born hard hitter, joined O'Brien at the crease.

O'Brien managed three attractive boundaries before he was dismissed on 16, caught by Brad Hodge at mid-wicket off the bowling of Stuart Clark to leave the score on 42-6.

The 50 came up in the 17th over, but spinner Kyle McCallan holed out to Tait at mid-off from the medium pace of Andrew Symonds.

Then, David Langford-Smith failed to read the left arm spin of Brad Hogg and was caught at silly mid-off by Ponting.

Mooney and Boyd Rankin added 11 runs for the last wicket in 41 balls before Mooney was run out.

The Australian batting response was swift and merciless.

Gilchrist hit four fours, including three in three balls off Dave Langford-Smith, as he and Hussey enjoyed the wayward bowling.

Gilchrist had scored 34 when he was bowled by Johnston and Symonds and Hussey finished the match off.