Australia have been destroyed by eight wickets in their Cricket World Cup semi-final by England, who have qualified for the final for the first time since 1992.
The tournament trophy is guaranteed to have a new name on it come Sunday night following New Zealand’s shock win over India yesterday in the other semi-final, but it’s England who will go in as red-hot favourites after ripping through Australia, exposing every weakness they had.
It looked like a bat-first wicket, but the one time Aaron Finch won a toss, it turned out to be a lose the toss sort of wicket, as England got plenty of assistance early on.
They bowled excellent lines and lengths to complement it, with Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes putting a wonderful first ten overs of work in to have Australia 2 for 10 and then 3 for 14, with all of Aaron Finch, David Warner and Peter Handscomb back in the rooms.
While Australia went on to recover, it turns out the start was just too much to overcome, with Finch LBW on his first ball, Warner snicking off and Handscomb caught on the crease.
Alex Carey and Steve Smith led the recovery effort out of the first ten overs, aided by some ordinary bowling from Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood.
Carey’s performance in particular was brave, batting with what could potentially be a broken jaw after being hit by a bouncer.
He eventually departed for 48, while Smith went on to make 85, and along with some cameos of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc, Australia made it to 223 despite the best efforts of Archer, Wood and Adil Rashid, but it was never going to be enough.
Glenn Maxwell has a different path to the Test side than Matt Hayden ever did. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Every time Australia looked like getting to a recovery, they lost wickets in clumps, with Stoinis getting a second ball duck and Maxwell departing at a poor time.
It was quite clear the pitch had flattened out by the time Australia came out to bowl, and while they didn’t help themselves by bowling inconsistent lines and lengths, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow had an absolute field day for the English.
Their opening partnership took the game right out of the balance, putting on 124 in 17 overs as Australia’s bowling went from bad to worse.
They had started on a reasonable level, but Jason Behrendorff lost his way, Nathan Lyon got hammered from his first ball, and Pat Cummins struggled for consistency, while Mitchell Starc was nowhere near his threatening best.
Bairstow was eventually removed LBW, while Roy followed shortly afterwards, caught behind for 85 off the bowling of Cummins.
Replays indicated he was given out incorrectly, but with the review already used by Bairstow, he had to go, however, didn’t take it all that well, arguing with the umpires on his way off and throwing equipment around once he got back to the dressing room.
Roy may face a nervous wait now to find out if he will be suspended from the final for dissent, but there was nothing nervy about the way Joe Root (49 off 46) and Eoin Morgan 45 (39) finished off the game, holding the Aussie bowlers at bay and completing the job with a stunning 107 balls to spare.
The final will be played on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 10:30am local time – 7:30pm (AEST).
Match summary
Australia: 10/223 (49) (Steve Smith 85, Alex Carey 46, Chris Woakes 3/20, Adil Rashid 3/54) defeated by England: 2/226 (32.1) (Jason Roy 85, Joe Root 49 not out, Eoin Morgan 45 not out, Pat Cummins 1/34) by eight wickets.
Offside
Roar Rookie
No, you got it right first time George. Chumping :-D
Offside
Roar Rookie
Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Kick. Catch. Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Run. Tackle. Stop. Stand up. "play the ball". Etc etc etc. There's a reason only 3 countries in the world play this utterly repetitive and boring game.
Offside
Roar Rookie
You are obviously ignorant of the CER agreement that we've had in place for 40 years. Something that Australia has reneged on, without actually cancelling it....because it still suits them. You are also quite oblivious to the fact that kiwi's have no benefits whatsoever in Australia without taking up citizenship. Something that the CER agreement makes unnecessary. Then there are all the deportations of kiwis. Even those who have lived in Australia since they were 2 years old. Again, the CER agreement between Australia and New Zealand that is still in place makes citizenship not required. None of these discriminatory practices are placed on any other foreigner in Australia. I also have family members in Australia. They have been there probably longer than you've been alive. And they all attest to the absolute discrimination and vilification of kiwi's by Australians. They give it heaps when they win, but don't want a bar of it when they lose. There's a name for that kind of character.....
Offside
Roar Rookie
Because you said so Zozza? No list of the 29 team sports that are bigger internationally than Rugby? Just your say so. The only LOL here is your butt hurt over getting kicked out of the Cricket World cup. The ONLY international team sport Australia had any chance of winning..... LOL!
Gonzo99
Roar Rookie
Tells you that in games amongst the top 4, Eng have been beaten once, Aus & Ind twice, and NZ three times. Also tells you that if NZ beats Eng on Sunday, the worst of the 4 has become world champion.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Bwahahaha, yeah that’s right zozza, it was the Scots. I’m going to take a wild guess and suggest you don’t earn a crust as a historian. Wiki is your friend in this instance. Still, at least you should credit the English blokes whose research provided you with your vast daily intake of viagra
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Nah they gave that to themselves. ' make the Romans look philanthropic.
Ben
Guest
What a sad little man you are......
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"Hey, Kiwis don’t drink Fosters." See - this is proof that Kiwis can be unbelievably vicious, cruel humans.
Republican
Guest
........I can live with that.
"had a glass of what he suspected might have been urine thrown on him " Hey, Kiwis don't drink Fosters.
Shakespear wrote fariytales. Most of the great inventors in the UK were Scottish, not Poms.
Yawnion the 3rd biggest team sport in the world?! LOL. Whatever you are smoking pal, I want some. It wouldn't be in the top 30.
Well there I agree with you. Union is a yawn, and as a Kid growing up in Auckland, I only played League. A lot of people don't understand that parts of Auckland are Rugby League dominated. It is just the rest of the country goes bannanas about Yawnion , something I have never quite worked out why.
Most of the politicians that run Australia are Kiwi Lovechilds.
Only a seriously flawed person would want the Poms to lift the World Cup.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
85 runs off 119 balls is a 'genius knock?' I think I might have an idea about why you lost.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
'But the situation isn’t reversed.' No need to 'imagine' what would happen. Lehmann demanded that Aussie fans boo and abuse Broad to the point of 'making him cry' for the 'sin' of not walking - something no Aussie batsman with the exception of Gilchrist has done since the dawn of time.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Was boring before it got started.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Yes, thought this topic might suddenly become 'boring.'