ICC World Cup 2019: Match 32, ENG v AUS – Australia Player Ratings

Aaron Finch stole all the attention in the first innings when England hosted Australia for the World Cup 2019 league game. The Australian skipper registered his 15th ODI century and was involved in a 123-run partnership with David Warner. The left-hander also became the first batsman to go past 500 runs in this edition of the tournament.

Yet again, though, Australia failed to finish the innings on a high. There were contributions from the likes of Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith. But, those weren’t huge and if it was not for Alex Carey towards the end of the innings, Australia might have settled with a paltry score. Howbeit, they managed to get to 285/7 in 50 overs while playing in testing conditions.

In the chase, England were hit with a few massive blows as they lost James Vince, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan for single-digit scores. The team was reduced to 26/3 before Ben Stokes came to the rescue. The left-hander played a fine knock and scored 89 runs. But just as it was in the last game against Sri Lanka, his efforts weren’t enough.

Here are the Australia Player Ratings for the match

Aaron Finch – 9/10

Australia skipper Aaron Finch got to his second century of the World Cup this year. He played his natural style of aggressive cricket right from the start, in this innings, he hit 11 fours and a couple of maximums. Surviving the initial phase was a lot difficult but Finch ensured that he dug in deep. What was disappointing though, was that he got out on the next ball after getting to his hundred and failed to make it big to put Australia in a much better position.

David Warner – 7.5/10

Aaron Finch kept the scorers busy early on in the innings and that helped David Warner buy some time. But he ensured that he didn’t come up too many deliveries as he did in some of the games earlier. The left-hander soon caught up with the pace and scored 53 runs off 61 balls before Moeen Ali got the better of him.

Usman Khawaja – 4/10

Usman Khawaja seemed to be in good touch as scored 23 runs from 29 balls. He often rotated the strike and looked in complete control. However, the ball was doing a good bit of just even in the 33rd over. Ben Stokes bowled a beautiful delivery to which the left-hander had no answers and the ball went crashing into his stumps.

Steve Smith – 6/10

Steve Smith kept hustling in the middle and played some glorious shots. He seemed set for a big knock after scoring 38 runs. By then, he already hit five great fours. However, a slight misjudgement with his shot brought down curtains to his show out in the middle and he had to return to the pavilion.

Glenn Maxwell – 2/10

Glenn Maxwell had the platform set to finish the innings off in style. However, he couldn’t succeed at the task on hand and got out for 12 runs after hitting a six and a four. He bowled two overs with the ball where he conceded 15 runs.

Marcus Stoinis – 4/10

Marcus Stoinis ended up consuming a little too many deliveries towards the end of the innings and couldn’t make it count. He scored 8 runs off 15 balls before he was run out. The all-rounder, however, did a good job with the ball. He dismissed the dangerous Jos Buttler at a crucial time in the game to put his team ahead in the race.

Alex Carey – 7/10

Alex Carey rose up to the occasion when his team needed him the most. Australia, clearly, weren’t heading anywhere close to the 300-run mark. But the wicketkeeper-batsman turned up with a great unbeaten 38 off 27 balls to get them to 285.

Pat Cummins – 2/10

Pat Cummins didn’t open the bowling this game. He was the first change bowler but couldn’t make a massive impact. In the 8 overs that he bowled, he gave away 41 runs and couldn’t open his wickets tally.

Mitchell Starc – 9.5/10

Mitchell Starc might not have picked a five-wicket haul in this game. But three of the four scalps that he picked were massive. The left-arm pacer dismissed the man in-form Joe Root first for a cheap score. Then, he even got the dangerous Eoin Morgan and followed it up with the wicket of Ben Stokes who seemed to be taking the game away. He finished England’s innings by dismissing Adil Rashid.

Nathan Lyon – 2/10

Nathan Lyon, who has roped into the eleven for this match, couldn’t do a great deal of damage with the ball. He bowled 9 overs where he was quite economical conceding only 43 runs. He did test a few batsmen but wasn’t amongst the wickets.

Jason Behrendorff – 9/10

Jason Behrendorff, after being brought into the side for this match, made a huge impact. He dismissed James Vince for a duck and then also got the better of his partner, Jonny Bairstow. The left-arm pacer followed this up with the wickets of Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer to register the first five-wicket haul of his ODI career.