England defeated Australia in the semi-final of the 2019 ICC World Cup and it was their first win against their Ashes foes in 27 years.
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The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was proving to be special for England. Eoin Morgan’s team was gunning for an elusive title in front of their home fans. The side had been performing well in ODIs for the last four years and they were putting on an exhibition in the 2019 edition. However, they had to first eliminate a couple of jinxes in their quest for the title.
There was one common factor in England’s triumphs against many nations. An aggressive batting, followed by solid middle order and end-overs exploits. A bowling attack for all the conditions and building pressure. However, there was one number that was common to all and that was 27.
In their match against India in Edgbaston, England was boosted by a century from Jonny Bairstow and aggressive fifties from Ben Stokes and Jason Roy. Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli hit 66 as India fell short by 31 runs. This was England’s first win against India in 27 years, having last won against them in 1992. In their last league game against New Zealand, they eliminated an even-bigger jinx. After winning three of their first encounters, New Zealand won five consecutive games from 1987 till 2015. In Durham, England finally ended 36 years of pain with a big win by 119 runs.
England now had only one aim and that was to get the better of Australia. The last time they had won against Australia was also 27 years ago. In the league game at Lord’s, England was blown away by the skill of Jason Behrendorff and Mitchell Starc as Australia won comfortably by 64 runs.
Australia was building momentum in the league stages as they finished in the second position behind India. They lost only two games to India and South Africa. England, on the other hand, was in the third position. The winner of the semi-final at Edgbaston played on July 11, 2019, would face New Zealand in the final at Lord’s.
Australia chose to bat and they were in immediate trouble as Jofra Archer trapped Aaron Finch LBW for 0. Chris Woakes then struck twice, removing David Warner for 9 and Peter Handscomb for 4. At 14/3, Australia was in trouble. However, Steve Smith and Alex Carey came together to revive Australia.
Both batsmen found the gap and rotated the strike well. The scoring rate was decent, with Smith notching up his fifty. Carey looked good for a big score and the partnership crossed 100. But, Australia once again lost wickets in a cluster. Carey was run-out while Adil Rashid got the big wicket of Marcus Stoinis for 0. Glenn Maxwell took the attack to the opposition and struck some big blows but he also perished.
Smith was batting brilliantly but he was running out of partners. He got good support from Mitchell Starc as Australia went past 200. However, brilliant fielding from England saw Smith run-out for 85 and Australia finished on 223 all out.
After cautious opening overs, Jason Roy began with a flourish as he blasted two fours off Starc. Things got better for Roy as he whipped Starc over midwicket for the first of his five sixes. Roy continued to bat with aggression as he hammered a six and a four off Nathan Lyon. Bairstow was playing the perfect foil but Roy notched up his fifty with three fours in one over off Starc who was struggling for rhythm.
The carnage continued as Roy blasted three consecutive fours off Steve Smith. Roy and Bairstow notched up a 100-run stand for the fourth time in the 2019 ICC World Cup and they were on course.
Starc had some redemption as he trapped Bairstow LBW for 34 for his 27th wicket in ODIs which was the most by any bowler. But, Joe Root hit two fours to keep the momentum going. There was a moment of controversy as Roy was given out by umpire Kumar Dharmasena. England did not have a review and replays showed that the bat was nowhere near the ball. Roy was livid and he walked off for a brilliant 85.
Cummins and Starc bowled in unison in the hope of making more inroads. But, Eoin Morgan and Root held firm. Morgan hit a couple of boundaries off Lyon. Both players raced through, with Root eyeing a fifty. But, it was Morgan who finished the match with a bang as England beat Australia after 27 years.
India was vanquished, New Zealand was thumped and now England had achieved the ultimate win against the old enemy. Three days later, there would be greater glory. But, with tremendous controversy.
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