Birmingham, July 11: Jason Roy and Chris Woakes starred as favourites England crushed defending champions Australia by 8 wickets in the second semi-final to make it to final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 here on Thursday (July 11) in a dominant fashion.
England seem primed to win their maiden title but the way Eoin Morgan and his band upstaged arch-rivals and defending champions Australia to enter the final after a gap of 27 years.
Record five-time champions Australia were completely outclassed by the English bowlers first as they were bundled out for a paltry 223. Chris Woakes was awarded the man of the match for his impressive figures of 3/20 as he demolished the Aussie top-order and opened the floodgates. Steve Smith, however, put up some resistance and scored valuable 85 and ensured his team crossed the 200-run mark batting first.
Later, in-form Jason Roy (85) and Jonny Bairstow (34) stitched another century stand to lay the foundation of an easy run chase. Eoin Morgan (45*) hit the winning runs while Joe Root (49*) remained unbeaten at the other end. Following this win at Edgbaston, England will now head for London to face finalists New Zealand at Lord's on July 14.
Here's how the match at Edgbaston transpired:
Eoin Morgan, the winning captain: Absolutely delighted. I would like to thank the fans who've come out today, our fans have been great with their support. Edgbaston has always been great for us. Having beaten India on this ground, we would have come in with similar confidence (had we faced India here). It is very important to take confidence from the group stages into the semi-finals. We talked about wanting to get better from game to game and we wanted to set the tone from ball one and we made Australia pay. Extremely happy for Woakes; he is a cool customer and has been one of the best bowlers for us in the last couple of years. He goes about his business day in and day out exceptionally. Him and Jofra were probably the standout performance for us in the last four years (referring to today's first spell). The guys coming after that really backed them up well. Roy and Jonny at the top of the order are really imposing when they get themselves in. They are in the form of their lives and they take advantage of that. They set the tone for us. I was six in 1992, I don't remember it, but I have seen a lot of it in the highlights. It is an opportunity for us on Sunday, a huge one at that too. Looking back at where we were in 2015 and looking ahead to Sunday is a dramatic improvement. Everyone in that dressing room must take a lot of credit for that. Making the most of that opportunity in getting the result will be great for us.
Aaron Finch, the losing skipper: We were just totally outplayed today. The way they set the tone with the ball and getting to 27/3 after ten overs was a huge part of the game. And was too hard for us to get back from. You do expect the new ball to seam first up, but they bowled really well by targetting the stumps and bowled a great length, something that we tried to do as well. But plenty of positives for us in this World Cup especially given where we were last year when we came here in England. You always want to win, but really proud of the group to get us here. In the last six months or so, there has been a lot of character shown, but it still hurts. We tried to change it up as much as we could, kept looking for wicket taking options. Just couldn't find it because they played exceptionally well. But they played really well, we know how dynamic they are and how dominating they are when they get on top. It's just one of those days, things didn't go our way and when you don't execute your plans well, you get hurt by a really good team. You've got to beat everyone in every condition. But things didn't go for us with a couple of injuries, but that's not really an excuse. We came here expecting to win, but it wasn't to be.
Only the fifth time in 20 ICC ODI tournaments that neither Australia nor India have made it to the final!
England and New Zealand will fight it out for the World Cup trophy on Sunday.
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) July 11, 2019
Only the fifth time in 20 ICC ODI tournaments that neither Australia nor India have made it to the final!#ENGvAUS #CWC19
It's all over!! England are through to the FINALS with an emphatic 8 wicket win over defending champions Australia. They'll face New Zealand at Lord's on July 14. They've reached the finals for the first time since 1992.
Four! Joe Root gets a boundary off Behrendorff and England are now just 9 short of victory.
Four, Four! Back-to-back boundaries from Morgan off Lyon. The England skipper is also looking in some sort of haste to finish this run chase as soon as possible. England - 197/2 in 28 overs.
After 25 overs, England reach 171/2. They need 53 more runs to win this match and have 8 wickets in hand. Root and Morgan have settled in but they are being tested by short-pitched bouncers by Aussie pacers.
After 23 overs, England are 158/2, they need another 66 runs to win. This has been an easy run chase for the English so far.
Wicket! Jason Roy (85) given caught behind off Pat Cummins. Umpire Kumar Dharamsena took his time and finally raised his finger to the batsmen's disbelief. The batsman left fuming from the pitch for he believed there wasn't any contact with his bat or gloves. Ultra-Edge confirmed there was no contact. Alas! Bairstow had wasted the DRS. Roy misses a well deserved century and Australia get a lucky breakthrough. England - 147/2 in 19.4 overs.
WICKET!
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) July 11, 2019
Absolute bizarre scenes as Roy is dismissed by Starc for 85. Ultraedge shows no noise, but England have no reviews left.
He is absolutely furious.https://t.co/zLWmN6vgVW #CWC19 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/EWNxbCbDzi
Mitchell Starc has now taken more wickets in a World Cup edition than any other player, goes ahead of fellow countryman Glenn McGrath who had taken 26 in 2007.
Most wkts in a World Cup
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 11, 2019
27 Mitchell Starc (2019) *
26 Glenn McGrath (2007)
23 Chaminda Vaas (2003)
23 Shaun Tait (2007)
23 M Muralitharan (2007)#ENGvAUS #CWC19 #CmonAussie
Wicket! Mitchell Starc draws the first blood for his team as he traps Jonny Bairstow (34) in front. Bairstow reviews it but in vain. England lose their review but one hopes they won't be needing it anymore. England - 124/1 in 17.2 overs.
Milestone Alert! 4 Century Partnerships between Roy and Bairstow in this tournament.
Most 100+ partnerships in a World Cup
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 11, 2019
4 J Roy - J Bairstow (2019)
3 A Gurusinha - A de Silva (1996)
3 A Gilchrist - M Hayden (2007)
3 T Dilshan - K Sangakkara (2015)
3 A Finch - D Warner (2019)
3 R Sharma - KL Rahul (2019)#ENGvAUS #CWC19 #WeAreEngland
SIX, SIX, SIX!! Jason Roy hammers Steve Smith for back-to-back maximums. He's toying with Aussie bowlers. This is sensational display of batting from Roy. 21 runs came from that Smith over. Another century stand between Roy and Bairstow. Boy, this run chase looks ridiculously easy. England - 116/0 after 16 overs.
50! Slapped towards covers and Jason Roy brings up his 5th half-century in the tournament. He has been Mr. Consistent for England. The hosts are cruising at the moment. The opening stand between Roy and Bairstow is worth 95 now.
HALF CENTURY!
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) July 11, 2019
Roy and Bairstow simply on fire for England as Roy brings up his 50 and they're just a few away from another century stand.
Watch: @Channel9
Stream: https://t.co/86GhU7jBCd #9WWOS #AUSvENG #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/NBmGOMbS49
Jonny Bairstow has some problem with his groin. He's looking to score quickly before getting dismissed. England reach 76 for no loss after 13 overs and the Australians are still searching for a breakthrough.
FOUR! Slapped disdainfully through backward point. Roy making short work of Lyon here as it races away for four
SIX!! Lyon's first delivery hit for a maximum as Roy launches it down the ground .
Solid opening stand set the hosts up:
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow have made a brilliant start at Edgbaston!
— ICC (@ICC) July 11, 2019
England have progressed to 50/0 in 10 overs, and need a further 174 runs to secure their place in the #CWC19 final.
Australia need a breakthrough, and fast.
FOLLOW #AUSvENG LIVE 👇 https://t.co/5eSJg5NGRO pic.twitter.com/gAYbUgYjbt
The steady opening partnership continues as England bring up their 50 in 9.5 overs. Roy and Bairstows fine partnership hands England the ideal start.
FOUR! Following five straight dot balls from the over, Roy finds the ropes to end Cummins' over with a boundary. Jason Roy times it well to get it past deep square leg.
The openers have given the hosts the ideal start:
It's been a solid start for England. Eight overs gone and Bairstow and Roy have taken them to 40/0.
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 11, 2019
At the same stage, Australia were 19/3.#AUSvENG | #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/Ztc3OMoUl0
SIX!! Jason Roy flicks Mitchell Starc and the ball sails over mid-wicket for a maximum. Exquisite shot from the in-form opener. England - 31/0 after 6 overs.
England are 20/0 after 5 overs. This has been a cautious start from the English openers in the run chase.
Jason Roy has hit some lovely shots through the offside so far, but as this graphic shows, he is just as effective through midwicket. You can't drift too wide, but he'll punish you if you get too straight. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/e6OpXIBGK1
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 11, 2019
2nd Innings: England openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are in the middle to start the run chase. Jason Behrendorff starts proceedings for Australia.
Timber! Woods cleans up Jason Behrendorff for 1 and Australia are all out for 223.
Smith and Starc fall in the same over. Smith run out via a brilliant throw from keeper Jos Buttler. And Starc feathered Woakes to Buttler.
50 partnership between Smith and Starc for the 8th wicket.
200 up for Australia in the 45th over.
Australia are scoring 4.3 per over now. Smith is still around with Starc giving him company. They need to get as many runs as possible on board from hereon.
Heady feat
No England bowler has ever taken more wickets in a World Cup than Jofra Archer has in 2019. A remarkable debut summer for the young man. #CWC19
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 11, 2019