Battle of nerves as England face Australia in semis
They came into the tournament as favourites, but Englands poor show in the middle of the group stages saw them almost being ousted from the 2019 World Cup. But the hosts got their act right and won their last two games against India and New Zealand to qualify for the semi-finals of the showpiece event. And now, they are set to take on arch-rivals Australia at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Thursday.
A resurgent Australian outfit — under the able leadership of Aaron Finch — has taken the showpiece event by storm and has once again shown an affinity to rise to the challenge on the big stage. The first team to qualify for the knockouts, Australia lost their last group game against South Africa which saw them finish second on the points table, otherwise they looked set to be finishing as leaders after the group stage.
However, that will act as motivation for the Australians as they are keen to show the world that the Sandpaper Gate fiasco is a thing of the past and this team is just as good as those that won the showpiece event five times over the years.
