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2019 Cricket World Cup: Australia defeat England by 64 runs

England’s captain was slammed by his own for an incredible moment of “weakness” as Australia piled on the pain for the old enemy.

Andrew McMurtryAndrew McMurtry
@AndrewMcMurtry
4 min read
June 26, 2019 - 9:23AM
Starc's 'yorker of the World Cup' sends Stokes packing

Australia’s match against England couldn’t have gone much better with the Aussies sealing a place in the semi-finals and leaving England in limbo.

Australia are the first side to claim their place at the pointy end of the competition after captain Aaron Finch hit his second century of the tournament to lead the side to a competitive 7/285.

Surprise opening bowling selection Jason Behrendorff then started the rot with a wicket with the second ball and England never recovered to be dismissed for 221 with more than five overs remaining.

The 29-year-old Western Australian ended with his first international five-wicket haul, taking 5/44 from his 10 overs.

For England, the match has left the hosts in danger of missing the finals altogether after a third loss in the tournament, with its final two games against undefeated sides New Zealand and India to complete the round robin section of the tournament.

Aaron Finch and David Warner were the difference between the sides.
Aaron Finch and David Warner were the difference between the sides.

English captain Eoin Morgan said he did not regret the decision to bowl first.

“I thought a lot of today we were outplayed,” he said. “Winning the toss and bowling first, I thought we bowled well, we were a bit unlucky, Australia seemed to play and miss quite a lot and built a fantastic partnership up front.

“Losing early wickets isn’t ideal and not managing to make a substantial partnership contributed to not winning the game.

“The wicket this morning was a bit soft and choosing to bat would have been a horrific decision.”

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Morgan was given an extraordinary serve by former England batsman Kevin Pietersen for appearing to take a tentative step back when he faced up his first delivery from Mitchell Starc.

“The England captain stepping to square leg when Starc bowled his first delivery to him made me think England could have a little problem over the next week or so,” Pietersen tweeted. “I hope not, but I’ve not seen a captain show such a weakness for a while.”

Morgan bluntly rejected Pietersen’s hot take when quizzed about it after the match, saying it “didn’t feel that way at all”.

KP labels English skipper Morgan 'scared'

OPENING PAIR ARE ON FIRE

The platform was laid once again by David Warner and Aaron Finch.

Starting against a ball that was noticeably seaming and swinging, the Aussie openers continued to bat as they have all tournament.

While they managed just 44 runs from the first 10 overs — their slowest start of the tournament — the wicketless opening was the platform Australia needed.

Both Warner and Finch passed 50 as they tallied their third century opening stand of the series.

Warner was soon dismissed for 53, having become the first batsman to score 500 runs in the tournament.

As a partnership, the pair have scored 642 runs at an average of more than 91.

The pair claimed a new record as the first opening combination in World Cup history to hit five successive half-century partnerships.

Finch battled at the other end, surviving an edge over the slips, a dropped catch from a diving James Vince at point, a tight LBW call and a Jofra Archer peach that beat his inside edge.

How the game could have been different if this was taken.
How the game could have been different if this was taken.

But he continued, bringing up a well-deserved century off 115 balls. It was his seventh ODI century against England — the most of any batsman. It’s also the most centuries by an Australian batsman against one particular opponent.

Finch’s innings took him to 496 runs for the tournament, second behind Warner overall, before falling in the 36th over with 185 on the board. From there, Australia struggled, only able to hit another 100 runs in the last 14 overs.

Aaron Finch’s century was a true captain’s knock.
Aaron Finch’s century was a true captain’s knock.

Steve Smith’s 38 off 34 balls and Alex Carey’s 38 not out off 27 balls made it a competitive score.

Fox Cricket commentator Kerry O’Keeffe said the Aussies should have piled on more runs after having such a strong platform.

“They still haven’t played their best cricket, they should have got 310-plus so they’ll be disappointed they didn’t get that so there best game is ahead of them but they’ll back themselves to defend this total,” he said.

It was Marcus Stoinis’ wicket that hurt the most when he and Smith ended up at the same end in a horrific mix up.

Calamitous runout between Smith and Stoinis

The Barmy Army were happy to rub it in with former England captain Michael Vaughan calling it a “collapse” as Australia fell to 7/259, losing 6/86 including 4/46.

BOWLING SELECTION WAS SPOT ON

Australia went with a shock tactic with the ball, handing it to left-armer Jason Behrendorff.

It was the beginning of a star-making performance in his eighth ODI as Behrendorff bowled James Vince with the second ball of the innings.

Behrendorff removes Vince with 'perfect' ball

The in-swinging yorker from the left hander took out middle stump. Commentator Michael Slater called it “the perfect delivery”.

Mitchell Starc took the huge wicket of English star batsman Joe Root LBW before captain Morgan followed, top edging a Starc bouncer straight into the hands of Pat Cummins at fine leg, leaving England 3/26.

Hardly the start England were looking for.
Hardly the start England were looking for.

England was 4/53 when Jonny Bairstow played a loose pull shot and found Cummins again.

Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler started the unlikely rescue mission before Buttler was dismissed for 25.

Stokes was playing a solo hand and moved to 89 before Starc struck again.

The spearhead was getting some reverse swing and bowled an incredible yorker at the base of Stokes’ stump.

Starc's 'yorker of the World Cup' sends Stokes packing

Stokes dropped his bat and kicked it in disappointment before walking off.

But the rest of the world took to social media to rave about the stunning moment.

The match was essentially over with Australia wrapping up the tail as Behrendorff took the wickets of Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer.

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As the first side through to the final, Australian captain and man of the match Finch said the first goal of the tournament has been completed for Australia.

“I’m very happy, you can’t win the tournament if you don’t make the semis so that’s the first part ticked off which is a really nice feeling,” Finch said. “We’ve played good cricket so far so touch wood it keeps moving in the right direction.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/world-cup/live-2019-cricket-world-cup-australia-vs-england/news-story/798c94fd6db1b63de3d3b62daf2c513e