England’s semi-final hopes were severely dented as they suffered their third defeat of the 2019 ICC World Cup when they went down to an in-form Australian side by 64 runs at Lord’s on Tuesday.
Opting to field first, England got off to a worst possible start and Australian openers Aaron Finch and David Warner stitched together a 123-run opening stand to put Australia on their way to a big score. However, the hosts fought back well and gained controlof the game after Finch and Warner were dismisssed.
Australia who looked set for a 300 plus score, stuttered to 285/7 in their 50 overs.
Finch threw a surprise by handing the new ball to Jason Behrendorff and he repaid his captain’s faith within two balls as he castled England opener James Vince. Mitchell Starc then joined the party to leave England reeling at 53/4.
Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes had a 50-run stand that threatened to get England back in the contest bur Marcus Stoinis got rid of Buttler as Australia smelt blood.
Stokes’ resistance was ended by Starc with what is hailed as the delivery of the tournament as England were foiled for 221.
Australia qualified for the semi-finals with the win, while England’s hopes faded.
Here are the highlights of the game:
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