England’s hopes of making it to the World Cup semifinals received a jolt as it suffered a 64-run loss to Australia at Lord’s on Tuesday.
Left-arm seamer Jason Behrendorff claimed five for 44 and Mitchell Starc four for 43 as the host lost the plot while chasing Australia’s 285 for seven and was bundled out for 221.
Put in to bat, Aaron Finch’s captain’s knock of 100 off 116 deliveries — his second century of the tournament — to guide Australia to a competitive total.
In reply, England was reeling at 53 for four at one stage after its top-order failed to fire.
Though Ben Stokes (89) and Jos Buttler (25) forged a 71-run stand for the fifth wicket, the equation changed once Marcus Stoinis sent back the latter.
Stokes then built a 53-run alliance with Chris Woakes (26) before being castled by Mitchell Starc. After his exit, England’s hopes died.
Earlier, on a cloudy morning, the Aussies got off to a solid start with Finch and David Warner (53) forging a 123-run opening partnership — their fifth 50-plus association in a row.
Moeen strikes
However, England applied the brakes through Moeen Ali who got Warner for 53.
Skipper Finch, who earned a reprieve on 15, went on to score his 15th ODI century off just 115 balls.
But he was dismissed by Jofra Archer off the next ball, hitting straight to long-leg.
It was left to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who smashed 38 off 27 balls, to take the defending champion to 285.
