Australia rout The Netherlands, remain unbeaten

Christchurch: Defending champions Australia sent a clear warning to their rivals ahead of the semi-finals by crushing The Netherlands by 10 wickets in the last of the league matches of the Women's World Cup 2000 at the Lincoln Green on Saturday. The Australians remained as the unbeaten squad and have scored convincing victories in all their league matches.The Netherlands captain Pauline te Beest, who top scored on 42 runs (69 balls, nine fours), won the toss and elected to bat. But for the effort from Pauline, none of the other Dutch women could contribute significantly as they were restricted to 107 for seven in overs.It, however, goes to the credit of The Netherlands players that they lasted the full quota of 50 overs. Tessa van der Gun and Rowan Milburn showed a lot of application to stay at the wicket though they did not succeed in getting too many runs.The Australians were ruthless in their run chase and raced away to 109 for no loss in just 24 hours. Lisa Keightley remained unbeaten on 51 runs from 70 balls with five fours and skipper Belinda Clark was 48 not out off 74 balls, which also included five fours.Australia will play South Africa in the first semi-final on December 18. India clash with hosts New Zealand in the second semi-final on December 20. The final is slated for December 23.