Australia thrash clueless Bangladesh to clinch series

DARWIN (AFP) - Australia thrashed Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second one-day international to clinch the series on Wednesday as the visitors continued their miserable form with the bat.

The Australians took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series when they cruised to 118 for two, led by an impressive Shaun Marsh half-century, in reply to Bangladesh's meagre tally of 117 after winning the toss.

The one-sided match came after Bangladesh were dismissed for a record-low 74 in a 180-run defeat on Sunday.

In Darwin, the tourists were again in trouble from the start and lasted just 36.1 overs. Frustrated captain Mohammad Ashraful took no solace in his side at least reaching triple figures.

"We don't see this as an improvement, we are a much better side than this," he said. "We are capable of playing much better cricket."

Australian captain Michael Clarke said his side wasn't concerned by the standard of the opposition and would be just as ruthless in the final game on Saturday.

"We're winning one-day international games for our country, which is the most important thing," he said.

"It doesn't matter who you play against, in our team, in our culture, you want to win every game you play. That won't change come Saturday."

Bangladesh's decision to bat backfired immediately when the very first ball saw Tamim Iqbal caught by David Hussey from the bowling of Nathan Bracken after the left-hander got an outside edge to a ball that swung away late.It set the tone for the rest of the innings as Australia quickly capitalised on some good early movement with the ball.