The second semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2019 is going to be played between England and Australia at Edgbaston, Birmingham on the 11th of July. Not only are Australia and England the oldest rivals in cricket but they are also going to be playing an Ashes series against each other in the upcoming weeks.
This makes the result of this match even more important than it already is.
Australia could have avoided facing England by winning its last match against South Africa, however, a spirited performance from the Proteas allowed them to bow out with a win. England has no choice but to win its previous two matches to qualify for the semi-final and will be very pleased with how its team stood up under pressure.
Australia:
Usman Khawaja has a hamstring issue and is certain to not play any further part in the tournament. That is a big blow to Australia since Khawaja was the player that was able to bat in a controlled manner as the others attacked around him.
That responsibility is now likely to fall on Steve Smith, who has not been at his best in the ICC World Cup 2019 so far.
David Warner and Aaron Finch are going to have more responsibility on their heads thanks to all these injuries now. Warner has 638 runs to his name while Finch has 507. The third best is Alex Carey with 329 runs, a big drop-off.
Australia is very vulnerable is it loses its openers cheaply and that is what it must guard against.
The bowling for Australia is in good form. Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament by a long distance. He has 26 wickets to his name, nine more than the next on the list, and has been particularly effective against the lower order.
Starc was unable to pick up wickets against South Africa early on and that allowed them to get away. He led Australia to win in the semi-final and the final in 2015 and will be hoping for a repeat this time around.
Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, and a combination of Maxwell-Marsh for the fifth bowler should provide Australia with a lot of ammunition to come hard at England.
England:
England was the top-ranked team coming into the tournament and has been very good in the ICC World Cup 2019 on its good days. On its bad days, England has been terrible and that is what it has to avoid.
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, and Jos Buttler. This is a top-7 that is power packed and in good form. Like the Australian side, the English openers are also going to be very important in setting the tone for their side.
If Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow can get away to one of their hallmark fliers then England is going to be tough to stop. They must show the Australia new ball bowlers the required respect and then they can cash in down the line.
England’s batting is stronger than that of Australia’s with more depth and power at its disposal.
Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Liam Plunkett are almost sure to be in the playing eleven for England. Archer and Wood have 18 and 17 wickets to their name respectively. Both of them will end up with more wickets than any other England bowler in a previous World Cup campaign.
England needs to decide whether to continue picking Adil Rashid or maybe switch to Moeen Ali. Neither of the two spinners has had a good world cup although Moeen offers more hope with the bat.
England has all the tools it needs to win. It knows that and the world knows that. The only question mark is going to be about its mental strength. The ghosts of losing the semi-final to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy is going to be rearing its head as will the loss against Australia in the group stages. England needs to focus on its recent dominance over Australia and go into the match with a positive mindset.
Predicted 11:
Australia 11: Warner, Finch, Smith, Wade, Handscomb, Maxwell, Carey, Cummins, Starc, Beherndorff, Lyon
England 11: Bairstow, Roy, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Woakes, Plunkett, Rashid, Archer, Wood
Dream 11: Warner, Finch, Wade, Handscomb, Maxwell, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Archer, Wood, Starc
Australia vs England
2019 Cricket World Cupsemi-final
Venue: Edgbaston
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2019
Start: 10:30am BST
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
Australia vs England semi-final ICC World Cup 2019 is going to be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham. There is a fair bit of rain predicted in Birmingham on match day. That means we could see some swinging conditions and a lower scoring match than expected.
Rain interruptions are expected during the match although the hope is that we should be able to get a full 50 over match in.
The pitch at Birmingham has been good for batting before slowing up later on in the game. The same kind of surface, perhaps, one that is better for batting than in previous matches is expected.
MATCH PREDICTION
England has won 12 out of the last 15 matches against Australia. It is also in excellent form having won two knockout matches against the other two semi-finalists. Australia is going to have to adapt to injuries at a crucial juncture and that is always an unknown. The advantage of playing in Birmingham also gives England the edge.
Back England to win.
