Stylish England powers into World Cup final vs New Zealand
BIRMINGHAM, England — The first flew over long-on. The second went straight down the ground, too, off the very next ball. Jason Roy made it a hat trick of sixes with the best of the lot, almost sending the white ball out of Edgbaston.
England powered into a first Cricket World Cup final in 27 years — and did it in some style.
Showing no nerves chasing the biggest prize in the sport, the tournament host trounced defending five-time champion and archrival Australia by eight wickets on Thursday to ensure there will be a firsttime winner of the World Cup.
New Zealand awaits in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.
Roy led the way in a one-sided second semifinal, the opener living up to his billing as the showman of the team by smashing 85 off 65 balls as England hunted down a target of 224 to win in 32.1 overs. An extraordinary knock included five sixes — three in a row off Steve Smith, sending him out of the attack after one over — and nine fours.
England captain Eoin Morgan has demanded his team maintain the attacking, ultra-positive outlook it has adopted in soaring to the top of the ODI rankings over the past World Cup cycle, and his players didn’t let him down in what, for some, was the biggest game of their lives.
“We had a bit of a day out,” Morgan said. “It’s cool when it happens like that.”
It was almost the perfect day for England after losing the toss, with Australia soundly beaten in every aspect.
“All in all,” Australia captain Aaron Finch said, “we were totally outplayed.”
Australia was 14-3 after 6.1 overs, Finch departing to a golden duck off the seventh ball of the innings, opener David Warner — the team’s top scorer in this tournament with 647 runs — caught behind for 9, and then World Cup debutant Peter Handscomb out for 4.
Finch said the opening 30 minutes were where the game was won and lost, even if Smith and Alex Carey repaired the early damage with a fourth-wicket stand of 103 to help the Australians drag themselves to 223 all out.