The last time England made it to a cricket world cup final I was still three months away from being born. That game ended in a loss to Pakistan but after watching England obliterate Australia today they have a great chance to get their hands on that trophy this time.
After big time momentum wins against India and New Zealand England came into todays match full of form and confidence but up against the defending champs there would definitely have been some nerves as Eoin Morgan made his way to the toss. A toss which Australia won and elected to bat. From the off England’s bowling attack looked dangerous and when Archer got Finch LBW with his first ball it was on.
Woakes then picked up the wickets of Warner and Handscomb and Australia were reeling. A period of calm followed as some quality batting from Steve Smith and Alex Carey settled the side. Carey’s knock was all the more impressive as after facing just five balls a rampant Jofra Archer bowled such a perfect bouncer that it knocked his helmet clean off leaving a nice cut on the Aussie’s chin.
Some quick thinking by Carey to catch the helmet before it went on to likely hit his stumps (he would have been given out if that happened) kept his innings alive.
Once Carey was caught in the deep trying to take on Adil Rashid it was just a matter of how many runs could Smith guide them too. Turns out that number was 223 all out.
England came out to bat after the break and carried the momentum into their innings. Jason Roy showed once again how much we need him and batted superbly from the off. With 120 runs on the board before Bairstow became the first wicket to fall, it was just a matter of time before England chased down the relatively small total. With Roy looking set to make a big number it turned out the only thing that could stop him was an umpiring blunder. Called out chasing a ball down the leg side, replays showed that Roy made no contact with the ball before it was caught behind the stumps.
Roy was not happy at all with the decision and took some time to be convinced to leave the field. It was definitely a mistake but England put themselves in a bind when they used their review early on to challenge a LBW decision against Bairstow which was never anything but out. Back leg, plum in front, totally wasted review. Shame to see Roy’s innings end that way but still great signs heading into the final. He will definitely have a big part to play there.
Root and Captain Morgan handled the rest of the chance with relative ease and reached the required total with 18 overs to spare. Total dominance. There’s not many more satisfying than a win over the Wallabies in the cricket.
Next up New Zealand. Bring it on. For now lets enjoy these highlights. Suck it Australia.
Life's Too Sport 
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