Mitchell Starc bowled an absolute stunner of a ball to take the key wicket of England dangerman Ben Stokes as reigning champions Australia became the first team to book their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup at Lord’s on Thursday.
When left-arm fast bowler Starc yorked Stokes for 89, England were 177/6 off 37 overs, chasing a target of 286.
The huge 64-run victory also dealt a blow to England’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Australia captain Aaron Finch made exactly 100 in a total of 285/7.
England’s reply saw them lose a wicket off just the second ball of their chase, with the struggling James Vince – only playing because Jason Roy was out with a hamstring injury – bowled by an inswinger from the recalled Jason Behrendorff.
Starc took a total of four wickets in nine balls to become the tournament’s leading bowler with 19 to his name.
The cricket community was amazed by the brilliant yorker as well, calling it the ball of the World Cup 2019.
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