Fifth consecutive defeat sees England limp out of the World Cup race
AHMEDABAD: Fired by a fabulous all-round show by leg-spinner Adam Zampa (29, 19b, 4x4 & 3-21 in 10 overs, besides a brilliant catch), Australia overcame the absence of their gun players- Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh-to down old foes England by 33 runs and bolster their 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal chances at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
The hard-fought win, which officially knocked England out of the tournament, was sweet revenge for the Aussies, who were trounced by eight wickets by their traditional rivals in the 2019 World Cup semifinals at Birmingham.
England suffered their sixth defeat in the last seven games while the Aussies continued a magnificent resurgence, which has seen them win five games after losing the first two to India and South Africa. The five-time champions are now placed third in the table and take on semifinal aspirants Afghanistan in what should be a cracker of a game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 7.
It's not a coincidence that Australia's superb comeback has much to do with Zampa rediscovering his mojo. Searching for form and confidence after he went for 0-53 against India at Chennai and 1-70 versus South Africa at Lucknow as the Aussies lost the first two games. The leg-spinner, who is now the highest wicket-taker in the competition with 19 wickets, bounced back with 4-47 against Sri Lanka, 4-53 against Pakistan, 4-8 against The Netherlands and 3-74 against New Zealand.
Briefly, Ben Stokes threatened to turn on some vintage magic and pull off a familiar heist with a half-century (64, 90b, 2x4, 3x6), but Zampa stopped him short.
Moeen Ali (42, 43b, 6x4), Chris Woakes (32, 33b, 4x4, 1x6) and even Adil Rashid (20, 15b, 1x4, 1x6) kept England's fight going for a while, but the emotionally charged Aussies, wearing black armbands on the night to mourn the loss of Marsh's grandfather, hung on with some brilliant fielding in the deep to bowl England out for 253 in 48.1 overs in front of a weekend crowd of 55,052.
1/8:Defending champions England sent packing from World Cup by Australia
AFP
2/8:Australia end England's title defence
England's stuttering title defence at the 50-overs World Cup eventually crumbled on Saturday as Australia emerged victorious, inflicting their sixth defeat in seven matches.AFP
3/8:England's patchy display with bat and ball
England's performance with both the bat and ball was patchy, failing to recover from their loss to Afghanistan. They struggled to drive home the advantage after removing Australia's openers and let them rebuild their innings.AFP
4/8:England's chase falters
England's chase got off to a disastrous start with Jonny Bairstow falling for a first-ball duck. Despite half-centuries from Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes, England never looked in charge as Adam Zampa's stellar bowling performance led to their eventual dismissal.AP
5/8:Buttler's poor form hurts England
Jos Buttler's poor form with the bat has been a major concern for England, who lacked partnerships throughout the tournament. Despite brief fightbacks from Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, England's title defence was effectively over.Reuters
6/8:Zampa's stellar performance
Adam Zampa's exceptional bowling performance, which included the prized wickets of Buttler, Stokes, and Moeen, earned him the player of the match award.AFP
7/8:England's dismal campaign
England's star-studded team has had a dismal campaign, leading to debates about the decision to bring back Ben Stokes and the axing of Jason Roy. Speculation about the future of coach Matthew Mott is also rife.AP
8/8:England's disappointment
England's disappointment is palpable as they now fight for a top-eight finish in order to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.ReutersEarlier, Australia did extremely well to end up with 286 in 49.3 overs after being asked to take first strike by England.
While Marnus Labuschagne (71, 83b, 7x4) was their top run-getter, and Cameron Green (47, 52b, 5x4), Steve Smith (44, 52b, 3X4) Marcus Stoinis (35, 32b, 3x4, 2x6) all made useful contributions, it was a surprising, heroic cameo by tail-ender Zampa which ensured that the Aussies had a formidable total on the board.
Leading England's charge with the ball were all-rounder Chris Woakes, who took four for 54 and leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who bowled brilliantly, taking two for 38 in 10 overs. Touching a speed of 154 kmph, Mark Wood, clearly the fastest bowler of the World Cup, cranked up some serious pace, taking the wickets of Labuschagne and Australian captain Pat Cummins but was again expensive, conceding 70 in 10 overs.
