Australia hand defending champions England loss at T20 World Cup

Australia defeated England in a T20 World Cup blockbuster on Sunday morning (AEST), putting the defending champion’s hopes of a third title in serious jeopardy.

Put into bat first, Australia made the most of the opportunity to post a score of 201/7 in Barbados. In response, England started strong, before a mid-innings wobble saw the No.3 ranked side splutter to 165/6.

Having had their first match against Scotland washed out, England are now a real chance of not qualifying for the Super Eight stage of the cricket tournament.
Aussie top five impress in big total

A total of 200+ usually means one individual went ballistic with the bat. In Australia’s innings, that wasn’t the case—instead, it was some good old-fashioned teamwork that helped them to a healthy score.

The Aussie top five all scored 28+ at healthy strike rates. It was Travis Head and David Warner who got the side off to a flier, cracking the 70-run mark in just the fifth over.

Warner fell first, but not before notching 39 runs to his name from just 16 balls. Head made a similarly impactful 34 from 18.

Contributions of 35 (25) from Mitchell Marsh, as well as Glenn Maxwell’s 28 (25) and Marcus Stoinis’ 30 (17) led Australia to 201/7 from their 20 overs.

Zampa spoils the party for England

Seven overs into England’s innings, it seemed as though this match was going down to the wire.

Phil Salt and Jos Buttler were established at the crease, each with well over 30 runs as England moved along at 10 runs per over.

That is, until Adam Zampa entered the fray. The crafty spinner removed both openers in a two-over spell, sparking the beginning of the end for England.

Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow fell early following the loss of Salt and Buttler. While Moeen Ali and Harry Brook made admirable contributions, the asking rate had shot up and both were hamstrung by the Aussie bowling.

With 21 balls passing between boundaries at the back end of the innings, England limped to a sobering 165/6 from their 20 overs.

Bookmakers have dropped England to fourth favourite ($8) in outright betting because of the loss. An earlier wash out against Scotland means that they’ll need to rely on other results to go their way to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

Next up in the T20 World Cup, India takes on Pakistan in a New York blockbuster. Rohit Sharma’s men are -250 favourites to prevail, but Pakistan (+200) will fancy their chances of an upset on Monday morning (AEST).

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