Cricket in any format, at any level is about taking wickets. When Eoin Morgan won the toss and told Australia to bat first in muggy air under leaden skies here at Lord’s wickets were what he had in mind. What he got was a masterclass in how to bat against a new ball. What he saw four hours later was a masterclass of how to bowl with one.
Captain Aaron Finch anchored Australia’s march with the bat with a second hundred of this tournament and a seventh against England. His century stand with David Warner, a fifth on these shores over the last month, set the platform for a 286 total that while under par for what has become the norm in the modern game, from the moment James Vince was castled all over St John’s Wood with the second ball of England’s reply, looked far beyond them.
Fired up by the task at hand and 140 years of cricketing rivalry left arm duo Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff tore in, finding immediate shape where there was none before in searing through the defences of Vince and then Joe Root in a blink.
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There really is no substitute for true pace and England had no answer. When a hooking Morgan departed only 35 balls had been bowled and England’s prospects in this match and perhaps this tournament were all but extinguished.
It was a far cry from England’s own opening salvo where Warner once again passed 50 with little fuss as he and Finch saw off Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes with relative ease. It wasn’t without its difficulties with the skipper surviving an LBW review on umpire’s call in the third over, but with the England pair bowling far too short for what was required Australia coolly and calmly set the table before heartily and hungrily tucking in.
1/23 Australia won by 64 runs
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2/23 James Vince 1
Another failure, a two-ball duck, beaten by Behrendorff’s pace and swing. A poor shot. So proficient at county level and with undoubted promise, but yet to make his presence known internationally, and you wonder if he ever will.
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3/23 Jonny Bairstow 3
Some eye-catching strokes in a 27 that seemed destined to be more, timing the ball wonderfully until a curiously-played pull to a ball going away from him settled into the hands of deep midwicket.
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4/23 Joe Root 3
Mitchell Starc was simply too quick and too good for an uncharacteristically insecure Root, like Vince beaten by a vicious inswinger at real pace. Australia’s opening pair showed the merits of pitching the ball up in conditions aiding the bowlers.
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5/23 Eoin Morgan 5
Captained well, using his bowlers intelligently to drag England back into the game as it threatened to slip away. A disappointment with the bat, again showing vulnerability against short and sharp bowling early on, caught at fine leg off Starc.
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6/23 Ben Stokes 8
Brilliant with ball and bat. Looked the most potent of England’s seamers as the ball softened, removing Khawaja with a middle-stump missile. A quite magnificent knock in tough circumstances with the bat before Starc produced an unplayable yorker. Hopefully the calf issue was just cramp on a muggy day.
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7/23 Jos Buttler 5
A steadying 25 after England’s top order disaster but they needed Buttler to go deeper into the innings in tandem with Stokes. A very poor missed stumping to give Khawaja a reprieve off Rashid docks him a point. The errors with the gloves seem to be coming more and more frequently.
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8/23 Moeen Ali 4
Another disappointing outing for Moeen, who came in after the horse had bolted, rather, and did little in the way of retrieving it. England’s most expensive bowler, though he did manage to pry a well-set Warner with a kicking off-break.
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9/23 Chris Woakes 7
Just about England’s best with the ball, unlucky to go wicketless in his new ball spell (though perhaps guilty of bowling too short on the whole) and returning strongly at the death. Showed some fight with the willow.
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10/23 Adil Rashid 7
Probably Rashid’s best spell of the tournament on a pitch that didn’t offer too much for him to play with, ticking along beneath five-an-over despite an expensive first six balls and getting through his entire allocation. Had some fun with the bat, too.
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11/23 Jofra Archer 6
Like Woakes he can consider himself unlucky that one of Australia’s many false shots in the first powerplay did not produce a wicket, but his natural back-of-a-length style was not ideal in conditions that looked to favour fuller bowling.
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12/23 Mark Wood 6
Loose in his first spell, much better in his second, but on the whole a touch expensive and like England’s other seamers generally too short.
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13/23 Aaron Finch 8 out of 10
Battled his way to 50, built impressively to 100, but the post-ton explosion Australia needed never came as Archer bounced him out, Finch perhaps guilty of losing focus after reaching the landmark.
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14/23 David Warner 7
A composed 50 after surviving Archer and Woakes’ tests early on. Out tamely to Moeen Ali soon after, however, when well set.
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15/23 Usman Khawaja 5
Never looked truly comfortable at the crease and played right around a full and straight ball from Ben Stokes that thumped into middle stump. Redeemed himself in the field with a brilliant grab on the square-leg boundary to dismiss Buttler.
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16/23 Steve Smith 6
Looked good as wickets tumbled around him but fell before he could cash in. Two missed run-outs blighted his effort in the field.
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17/23 Glenn Maxwell 5
It hasn’t quite happened for Maxwell with the bat in the World Cup so far. Two thumping pulls off Archer promised much, a tame dismissal to Wood delivered little. Smart work on the boundary to hand Finch a catch and end Woakes’ cameo.
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18/23 Marcus Stoinis 6
Sold down the river a little by Smith as he charged back to the danger end for a second that was almost certainly there. It mightn’t have mattered – Stoinis never found his stride. Coaxed Aaron Finch into a woeful review with ball-in-hand but broke the crucial partnership of Stokes and Buttler in slightly fortuitous fashion.
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19/23 Alex Carey 7
A very useful cameo to lift Australia over 280. There’s an argument to be made that the keeper-batsman should come in ahead of Stoinis – he certainly looks in better touch.
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20/23 Mitchell Starc 9
Exceptional. A brilliant new-ball burst, executing his plans perfectly to snare Root then Morgan, before producing the most perfect of yorkers to rid England of Stokes. On track to be leading wicket-taker at consecutive World Cups – he’s a special bowler.
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21/23 Jason Behrendorff 9
Justified his inclusion with a lovely five-fotr. Hooping inswinger at pace to snare Vince early on, before switching ends and getting Bairstow with the short ball. Behrendorff’s new ball ability deepens the Australia attack. Returned later on to grab three more and his best ODI figures, superb ones of 5-44 at that.
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22/23 Nathan Lyon 7
Competent and constricting. Australia didn’t need him to be too potent today, and he made sure the pressure stayed on.
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23/23 Pat Cummins 6
Somewhat unbothersome to the England batsmen, oddly, but tough to consistently score from in a slightly different role with Behrendorff into the side.
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1/23 Australia won by 64 runs
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2/23 James Vince 1
Another failure, a two-ball duck, beaten by Behrendorff’s pace and swing. A poor shot. So proficient at county level and with undoubted promise, but yet to make his presence known internationally, and you wonder if he ever will.
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3/23 Jonny Bairstow 3
Some eye-catching strokes in a 27 that seemed destined to be more, timing the ball wonderfully until a curiously-played pull to a ball going away from him settled into the hands of deep midwicket.
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4/23 Joe Root 3
Mitchell Starc was simply too quick and too good for an uncharacteristically insecure Root, like Vince beaten by a vicious inswinger at real pace. Australia’s opening pair showed the merits of pitching the ball up in conditions aiding the bowlers.
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5/23 Eoin Morgan 5
Captained well, using his bowlers intelligently to drag England back into the game as it threatened to slip away. A disappointment with the bat, again showing vulnerability against short and sharp bowling early on, caught at fine leg off Starc.
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6/23 Ben Stokes 8
Brilliant with ball and bat. Looked the most potent of England’s seamers as the ball softened, removing Khawaja with a middle-stump missile. A quite magnificent knock in tough circumstances with the bat before Starc produced an unplayable yorker. Hopefully the calf issue was just cramp on a muggy day.
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7/23 Jos Buttler 5
A steadying 25 after England’s top order disaster but they needed Buttler to go deeper into the innings in tandem with Stokes. A very poor missed stumping to give Khawaja a reprieve off Rashid docks him a point. The errors with the gloves seem to be coming more and more frequently.
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8/23 Moeen Ali 4
Another disappointing outing for Moeen, who came in after the horse had bolted, rather, and did little in the way of retrieving it. England’s most expensive bowler, though he did manage to pry a well-set Warner with a kicking off-break.
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9/23 Chris Woakes 7
Just about England’s best with the ball, unlucky to go wicketless in his new ball spell (though perhaps guilty of bowling too short on the whole) and returning strongly at the death. Showed some fight with the willow.
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10/23 Adil Rashid 7
Probably Rashid’s best spell of the tournament on a pitch that didn’t offer too much for him to play with, ticking along beneath five-an-over despite an expensive first six balls and getting through his entire allocation. Had some fun with the bat, too.
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11/23 Jofra Archer 6
Like Woakes he can consider himself unlucky that one of Australia’s many false shots in the first powerplay did not produce a wicket, but his natural back-of-a-length style was not ideal in conditions that looked to favour fuller bowling.
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12/23 Mark Wood 6
Loose in his first spell, much better in his second, but on the whole a touch expensive and like England’s other seamers generally too short.
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13/23 Aaron Finch 8 out of 10
Battled his way to 50, built impressively to 100, but the post-ton explosion Australia needed never came as Archer bounced him out, Finch perhaps guilty of losing focus after reaching the landmark.
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14/23 David Warner 7
A composed 50 after surviving Archer and Woakes’ tests early on. Out tamely to Moeen Ali soon after, however, when well set.
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15/23 Usman Khawaja 5
Never looked truly comfortable at the crease and played right around a full and straight ball from Ben Stokes that thumped into middle stump. Redeemed himself in the field with a brilliant grab on the square-leg boundary to dismiss Buttler.
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16/23 Steve Smith 6
Looked good as wickets tumbled around him but fell before he could cash in. Two missed run-outs blighted his effort in the field.
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17/23 Glenn Maxwell 5
It hasn’t quite happened for Maxwell with the bat in the World Cup so far. Two thumping pulls off Archer promised much, a tame dismissal to Wood delivered little. Smart work on the boundary to hand Finch a catch and end Woakes’ cameo.
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18/23 Marcus Stoinis 6
Sold down the river a little by Smith as he charged back to the danger end for a second that was almost certainly there. It mightn’t have mattered – Stoinis never found his stride. Coaxed Aaron Finch into a woeful review with ball-in-hand but broke the crucial partnership of Stokes and Buttler in slightly fortuitous fashion.
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19/23 Alex Carey 7
A very useful cameo to lift Australia over 280. There’s an argument to be made that the keeper-batsman should come in ahead of Stoinis – he certainly looks in better touch.
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20/23 Mitchell Starc 9
Exceptional. A brilliant new-ball burst, executing his plans perfectly to snare Root then Morgan, before producing the most perfect of yorkers to rid England of Stokes. On track to be leading wicket-taker at consecutive World Cups – he’s a special bowler.
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21/23 Jason Behrendorff 9
Justified his inclusion with a lovely five-fotr. Hooping inswinger at pace to snare Vince early on, before switching ends and getting Bairstow with the short ball. Behrendorff’s new ball ability deepens the Australia attack. Returned later on to grab three more and his best ODI figures, superb ones of 5-44 at that.
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22/23 Nathan Lyon 7
Competent and constricting. Australia didn’t need him to be too potent today, and he made sure the pressure stayed on.
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23/23 Pat Cummins 6
Somewhat unbothersome to the England batsmen, oddly, but tough to consistently score from in a slightly different role with Behrendorff into the side.
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This newly circumspect Warner is certainly a peculiar watch but he’s as effective as ever and maneuvered his way to a fifth tournament half century before one with a little more bounce than he expected saw him slice straight to Joe Root at point. He was disgusted with himself as he stomped from the field, knowing he would now be unable to reap what he had so expertly sowed.
At the other end Finch continued untroubled. For a player so painfully bereft of form a few months ago he looked in danger of missing the World Cup entirely, Finch is an altogether different prospect again now, taking the all too readily available twos on offer from a subdued England in the field while pouncing on anything in his arc with the aggression that has made him one of the world’s most feared opening batsmen when on song like this.
With 350 looking a real possibility it was Ben Stokes, as he so often does, who turned the tide. Full, straight and with a bit of nip Usman Khawaja had no response.
Nine and a half overs later Australia were five down as England, buoyed by a reignited crowd, roared back into the game. First Finch, having brought up three figures just a ball before skied aimlessly to third man, his pavilion stomp even more pronounced than Warner’s just half an hour before.
Then Glenn Maxwell did what Glenn Maxwell does, smearing Archer twice violently to the fence before feathering one to Jos Buttler caught behind. The less said about Marcus Stoinis’ farcical 22-yard run out minutes later the better.
Steve Smith, booed to the high heavens by the usually sedate Lord’s crowd, threatened more before departing for an awkward run-a-ball 38. Only 22 from the bats of Alex Carey and Starc from the final two overs eked Australia past 280.
If Jonny Bairstow’s early dismissal, coming so quickly after the three before it, signalled the end, no one told Stokes, who set about righting the ship, this time with bat rather than ball in hand. On one leg after an apparent calf pull Stokes passed 50 for a third time in the tournament undeterred.
If this is to be as good as it gets for this England side, it won’t be on their brutal, brilliant all-rounder. He countered the seemingly inevitable with brute force, twice slapping Stoinis over the midwicket fence, as well as craft before the returning Starc finally removed him in fitting fashion with a vicious yorker for a supremely defiant 89.
His hopes were over as he hobbled back to the pavilion and with him so too were England’s. Time will tell if those for this tournament went with him.
