What happened the last time Australia played England in a T20 World Cup game?
Two giants of the cricketing world - Australia and England - are set to face off in the 17th match of the T20 World Cup 2024. They will clash at the Kensington Oval Bridgetown in Barbados on Saturday, June 8.
The two teams have given fans riveting action in the past and have one of the fiercest rivalries in world cricket.
While they face off in the Ashes every year, the two sides are at their best when they lock horns in a World Cup match. Their last encounter at the T20 World Cup of 2022 disappointed both teams, as the match was abandoned due to persistent rain, without a ball being bowled.
Before that, England and Australia squared off in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. While fans were eagerly waiting for a thriller, it turned out to be a one-sided affair as England clinched a dominating win.
After being put to bat first, Australia made a poor start to their innings, as they could accumulate only 21 runs in the powerplay while losing three crucial wickets. Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan joined hands to take charge of the new ball and put up a destructive performance.
While Jordan dismissed Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, Woakes picked up Steve Smith’s wicket as Australia witnessed a collapse. On the very next delivery post the powerplay, Adil Rashid spun a web to send the dangerous Marcus Stoinis packing for a four-ball duck.
Australia, who were at 21/4 in 6.1 overs, barely managed to recover before the fall of their fifth wicket. While skipper Aaron Finch, who opened the batting, played a slow knock of a 49-ball 44, the middle-order batters couldn’t do much as the Aussies folded for 125 in 20 overs.
Jordan finished with figures of 3/17 in four overs while Woakes and Tymal Mills registered 2/23 and 2/45 in their allotted four overs. Rashid and Liam Livingstone picked up one scalp each as the Aussies were bundled out for 125.
Jos Buttler led the way with bat as England successfully completed the chase
The bowlers had made the task easy for the English batters and also took advantage of the conditions. Jason Roy and Jos Buttler joined together a 66-run partnership while opening the lineup before the former walked back scoring 22 off 20 balls.
England lost a couple of wickets during the chase, as Dawid Malan was dismissed cheaply for a run-a-ball eight but Buttler took on the onus of scoring runs and played a brilliant innings. The wicketkeeper-batter notched up an unbeaten 71 off 32 deliveries and was helped by Jonny Bairstow’s contribution for the third wicket.
Courtesy of the bowlers’ top-class efforts followed by Buttler’s classy knock, England chased down the total in just the 12th over, with 50 balls to spare. The Eoin Morgan-led side defeated Australia by eight wickets to bag a memorable win.