Cricket:Ireland were on the receiving end of a blunt reality check by Australia this afternoon as the world champions demolished their batting order with ruthless efficiency at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Despite encouraging results at the beginning of the tournament Ireland are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their head above water in the Super Eight's stage of the World Cup, and Australia refused to let them up for air today, bowling them out for a paltry total of 91.
Aussie captain Ricky Ponting handed Ireland the honour when he won the toss and before Andrew Birrell's side could blink they had lost their opening pair to Glenn McGrath and Shaun Tait.
Ireland capitulated and were finally ousted in 30 overs when Langford-Smith was caught by Ponting off Brad Hogg.
A win for Australia, which looks inevitable now, will see them into the semi-finals.
It began ominously when McGrath bowled Australian-born opener Jeremy Bray with the sixth ball of the morning, clipping the left-hander's off stump and then in the fourth over William Porterfield was trapped leg before by Tait.
Tait, bowling consistently at over 90 mph on a track which encouraged pace bowlers with plenty of bounce, then dismissed Niall O'Brien first ball. The Irishman played on to a full length delivery.
Ireland were two for three and Tait was on a hat-trick, Kevin O'Brien, though, survived a corker of a delivery which zipped past his outside edge.
The Irish then slumped to 12 for four when Eoin Morgan went, caught by Matthew Hayden at slip off McGrath and it could have been even worse when, with Ireland having added just five runs, Ponting dropped Andrew White at slip off Tait.
White's luck turned for the worse when he ducked into a short delivery from McGrath and he had to receive medical attention after being struck on the helmet.
Shortly afterwards White was on his way after stopping on a drive to a slower ball from McGrath which he lobbed to Hogg.
At 32 for five, Ireland's frontline batsmen had gone with McGrath enjoying figures of three for 17 from his opening seven overs.
Kevin O'Brien put up some resistance making 16 before he went, clipping Stuart Clark to Hogg at mid-wicket and Ireland's Australian captain Trent Johnston showed some spirit scoring 17 before he played on to Tait who Ponting had brought back as he looked to finish it off.
Tail-ender John Mooney top scored with 23, before he was run out, to give the slightest tinge of respectability to the score.
The final of the seven-week tournament will be held at the Kensington Oval on April 28th.
Scoreboard
J.Bray b McGrath 1
W.Porterfield lbw b Tait 1
E.Morgan c Hayden b McGrath 0
N.O'Brien b Tait 0
K.O'Brien c Hodge b Clark 16
A.White c Hogg b McGrath 6
T.Johnston b Tait 17
K.McCallan c Tait b Symonds 5
J.Mooney run out 23
D.Langford-Smith c Ponting b Hogg 2
B.Rankin not out 4
Extras(w-15 nb-1) 16
Total(all out, 30 overs) 91
Fall of wickets:1-2 2-2 3-2 4-12 5-32 6-42 7-54 8-72 9-80 10-91
Bowling: McGrath 7-1-17-3, Tait 6-1-39-3 (1nb), Clark 8-1-19-1, Hogg 6-2-9-1, Symonds 3-1-7-1