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England end Australia's Champions Trophy campaign with crushing victory

England captain Eoin Morgan
England captain Eoin Morgan

England knocked Australia out of the Champions Trophy with an enthralling 40 run win (DLS method) at Edgbaston on Saturday.

After putting their Antipodean rivals in to bat first, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid cleaned up with four wickets apiece to limit the Aussies to 277-9.

Eoin Morgan’s men then lost three quick wickets before the captain himself 87 (81) and Ben Stokes 102* formed a 159-run partnership to steady any nerves the hosts had.

The win ensured Bangladesh qualified for the semi-finals as England won all three group matches.

An innings of two halves

We do love a rollercoaster, don’t we?

The raucous Aussies were rendered impotent in the opening overs, not scoring a run off the first two.

Needless to say, Dave Warner and Aaron Finch weren’t keen on that and were 31-0 just four overs later.

Heck, just past the half-way mark, they were 160-2. All going smoothly.

So it was equally an impressive measure of the bowlers and a damning indictment of the batsmen that the innings ended on just 277-9.

Travis Head proved to be a mere spectator, ending 71 not out, as his team-mates routed their path back to the pavilion more or less as soon as they entered the field.

Mark Wood will lead England to future glory

At one point, It was highlighted that Wood’s last four wickets were Hashim Amla, Kane Williamson, Steven Smith and Warner.

All pretty notable scalps in their own right, it speaks volumes that two of these – Williamson and Smith – are both the skippers of their nations and classed in the ‘best four’ batsmen.

In essence, England have a strike bowler here who can really propel them on to great things.

The Durham pace bowler really does provide Eoin Morgan’s men with an ‘X’ factor in attack, picking up wickets regularly when he bowls.

He ended his innings 4-33 and played a massive role as the hosts tamed Australia.

Adil Rashid proves his value

The leg spinner was left out of England’s opening Champions Trophy match with Bangladesh, but really showed what he can offer against the old enemy.

He disrupted the early momentum the Aussies had created by spinning Finch into a web of woe, before the dynamic opener miscued off Stokes to end his innings.

The 29-year-old wreaked mayhem with his wrong ‘un, Finch just one of a number of Aussie batsmen who struggled to pick the tricksy wicket-taking ball.

He completed his ten overs having taken 4-41 – outrageously without conceding a boundary. In short form cricket. A spinner not conceding a boundary.

With the second best economy, Rashid proved to Morgan he is a dependable pressure player.

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Australia are going nowhere with this batting lineup

Let’s get one thing straight. England’s attack is pretty good, they’re also one of the best teams in shorter-form cricket.

That said, the visitors’ middle-order collapse was nothing short of woeful, with the last five wickets falling for 15 runs.

It was almost Trent Bridge-like in drama. England had their tails up, the batsmen looked hesitant to be there. The rowdy crowd chanted ‘Finchy’s going home’, I bet he couldn’t wait.

And the nature of those wickets was something else entirely. Scooping mistimed shots straight up into the air on multiple occasions should be an immediately fireable offence.

England’s ‘chipping away’ is name of the game

Morgan’s men were immaculate in the field, barring two drops from pace bowler Liam Plunkett which he ostensibly seemed to have grabbed.

When the going got tough, England stuck in there and continued to plug away and bowl well.

The phrase ‘chipping away’ seems to be a buzz phrase in this tournament, and it couldn’t be more appropriate for the hosts, who held their nerve and kept their patience while Finch, Smith and Travis Head scored their runs – particularly the duo at the top of the order.

Led by Wood, they kept themselves in the game by taking wickets at pivotal moments, which helped them initiate the collapse – and ultimately restrict the Aussies to 277, well short of a par score.

Steve Smith is visibly frustrated by Australia in defeat to England
Steve Smith is visibly frustrated by Australia in defeat to England

England provide middle over masterclass

In the opening innings, the Australians only managed ten boundaries in 20 overs.

That’s right, 20 overs. 120 balls. Only ten went to the rope. Led by captain Morgan, the hosts restricted the run rate which ultimately led to three crucial wickets, and a consequential collapse in the last ten overs.

By contrast, the visitors from Down Under could not plug any gap. The power hitting of Stokes, Morgan and co rendered them absolutely useless.

It infuriated Smith’s men and visibly took it’s toll, resulting in moments like Glenn Maxwell astonishingly falling underneath a straightforward catch.