Australia captain Aaron Finch hit a hundred before left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff and Mitchell Starc shared nine wickets as the reigning champions thumped England by 64 runs at Lord’s on Tuesday to book their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup 2019. Finch made exactly 100 in a total of 285/7 before England slumped to 221 all out with 32 balls left. The recalled Behrendorff took 5/44 — his first five-wicket haul in a one-day international — bowler at the tournament with 19 scalps thanks to a haul of 4/43.

Australia, who had lost 10 of their previous 11 ODIS against England, was in complete charge with the hosts now 26/3.

England have surged to the top of the ODI rankings on the back of aggressive run-scoring but the worry for Morgan’s men is that too many of their top-order appear to know only one way to bat.

Careless England
Jonny Bairstow, for example, fell next to a careless hook off Behrendorff before Stokes and Jos Buttler (25) repaired some of the damage with a fifth-wicket stand of 71.

Earlier Finch, dropped on 15, and fellow opener David Warner (53) came through some testing early overs to share a stand of 123 as too many of England’s pacemen, with the exception of Chris Woakes, dropped short.

Finch went to his century thanks to a misfield by Woakes but next ball he miscued a hook off Jofra Archer and Woakes held the catch at fine leg.