World Cup 2019: The England team, standing at the threshold of winning the World Cup for the first time, will have to do a lot of her work to defeat the opponent Australia in the second semi-final on Thursday. England had gone out of the first round of the 2015 World Cup last time. Since then, however, one day reached the top of the rankings and emerged as a strong team.
England reached the finals in 1979, 1987 and 1992 but could not win the World Cup. This time, considering the form of the team, experts had convinced that this is the golden opportunity for them. However, Australia, on the first move between England and the title, has consistently performed well in the tournament. So far, they have won all six semi-finals and in 1999, the match was tie in the dramatic situation against South Africa.
Four months ago, Australia rarely took seriously but Aaron Finch’s team has made a great comeback. They can still not be called the unbeatable Australian team of the past, but they have always performed well in big matches. This time also the team has come in the form at the right time and is not under any kind of pressure.
Australian coach Justin Langer said, “We were not so leisurely a year ago. We have undergone a lot of trouble which has the effect not only on the game but also on our country. So there was no relief. We had to work harder than we did. We did not only have to play well, we had to do good conduct too.” Referring to David Warner and Steve Smith, he said, “I knew some people in England would scare away but it was right. We had to work hard We knew we had a good player.”
Apart from England’s openers Johnny Bairstow and Jason Roy, Joe Root is in a formidable form. Captain Eoin Morgan has also scored runs. England won 10 out of the last 12 against Australia but they know how dangerous the Australian team is that they beat them by 64 runs in the league stage.
After that England beat India and New Zealand in the last two league matches. Fast bowler Liam Plunkett believes his team is a strong contender this time and will beat Australia. He said, “We are different in comparison to the previous England teams. We have played a lot of cricket in the last four years. We are number one. In our day, we can defeat anyone in the world.”
There is no issue of fitness in the England team, while in the Australian team, Peter Handscomb will play in place of injured Usman Khawaja. Australia can lose Khawaja’s deficit Although Australia will be up against David Warner, who has so far scored three hundreds. Captain Aaron Finch, who has scored more than 500 runs, has also scored two hundreds.
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