ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (Semi-Final 2): Australia vs England – Statistical Highlights

On Thursday (11th July), the home team England comfortably beat the defending champions Australia at Birmingham in the second semi-final of the ongoing 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. With this eight-wicket victory (with 107 balls remaining), England have booked their place for the final of this tournament.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss in this CWC semi-final and decided to bat first. However, the defending champions were bundled out for 223 runs (49 overs). England lost only two wickets before chasing down that target in 32.1 overs.

Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: Twitter Reacts As England Confirm Final Meeting With New Zealand

On this Sunday (14th July), England and New Zealand will face each other in the final of this tournament.

Brief Scores: Australia – 223 in 49 overs (Steven Smith 85, Alex Carey 46; Chris Woakes 3/20)

England – 226/2 in 32.1 overs (Jason Roy 85, Joe Root 49*; Pat Cummins 1/34)

Result – England won by eight wickets

Here are some of the statistical highlights of the match:

Teams’ stats

England

i) England registered an eight-wicket victory with 107 balls remaining. It is England’s largest ODI victory (by balls remaining in the second innings) against Australia. Their previous record in this list was winning by seven wickets with 94 balls remaining (at Melbourne on 24th January 1979).

ii) After suffering four straight CWC defeats against Australia, England finally managed to beat Australia in the Cricket World Cup. Before their latest victory, England’s previous CWC victory against Australia was on 5th March 1992 at Sydney.

iii) On this Sunday (14th July), England will play their fourth Cricket World Cup final. However, they haven’t won this tournament yet as they have finished as the runners-up three times (1979, 1987 and 1992).

 Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: Australia Players’ Rating

Australia

i) Australia had a poor start in this match as they were once struggling on 14/3. It is the lowest ODI total for Australia to lose the first three wickets against England (the previous record was 17/3 at Manchester on 25th May 1989). Meanwhile, Australia’s 14/3 is also the second lowest CWC total for Australia to lose the first three wickets (the record is 8/3 against West Indies at Mohali on 14th March 1996).

ii) It was the seventh semi-final for Australia in Cricket World Cup history, and it was Australia’s first ever CWC semi-final defeat.

Players’ stats

Australia

i) Aaron Finch becomes the first captain to score a golden duck in the CWC knockout stages history. Moreover, Finch is the second Australian captain, after Allan Border (against South Africa at Sydney on 26th February 1992), to register a golden duck in a Cricket World Cup match.

ii) In the CWC knockout stages history, Australian batsman Steven Smith has registered four 50+ scores. It is the joint most 50+ scores for a batsman in CWC knockout stages history. Before Steven Smith, only Sachin Tendulkar (India) registered four times 50+ scores in CWC knockout stages history.

iii) The left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc finished the 2019 Cricket World Cup with 27 wickets. It is the most wickets for a bowler in a single CWC edition. Glenn McGrath (Australia) was the previous record holder in this list who bagged 26 wickets in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.

England

i) Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has picked up 38 ODI wickets against Australia. As an England bowler, it is the joint most ODI wickets against Australia as the pacer James Anderson also claimed 38 ODI wickets against Australia.

ii) In the ongoing 2019 Cricket World Cup, England captain Eoin Morgan has scored 362 runs. Surpassing the former English captain Mike Gatting’s record of 354 runs in 1987 CWC, Eoin Morgan is now the most run-scorer as an England captain in a single CWC edition.

iii) Joe Root has taken 12 catches in the ongoing 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Breaking the previous record of Ricky Ponting’s 11 catches in 2003 CWC, Root becomes the new record holder to take most catches as a non-wicketkeeper in a CWC edition.

iv) In his Cricket World Cup career, Joe Root has also grabbed 19 catches. Only the former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting (28 catches) took more CWC catches as a non-wicketkeeper than Root.

v) On the other hand, Joe Root has also scored 751 runs in his CWC career. Only Graham Gooch scored more CWC runs for England than Root. During this match, Root surpassed Ian Bell (718 runs) and climbed up the second position in the most CWC runs list for England.