2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Ben Stokes Hundred Strokes Steven Smith’s Men Out Of Competition

Nov 2, 2023 at 3:43 PM

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2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Ben Stokes Hundred Strokes Steven Smith’s Men Out Of Competition

Formidable England which has been already guaranteed the semi-finals on Saturday had registered its third consecutive and convincing win by routing rivals Australia by 40 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis Method when skies opened up and rain stopped play to see match was officially abandoned owing to the inclement weather.

The fielders and batsmen came off the ground when the Three Lions were 240 for four in 40.2 overs at the Kennington Oval.

Interestingly, the result humbly propelled Mashrafe Bin Mortaza-led side to the semi-finals.

The promising batsman Stokes remained unbeaten on 102 off 108 balls, as his innings was laced with 13 boundaries and two sixes. At the other end, Stokes was well supported by Jos Buttler, who scored 29* off 32 deliveries, as both players posted 46-run stand for the fifth wicket.

On a heartbreaking note for Australia, the quality side witnessed two washout games with just two points to their name, before being crashed out in their virtual quarterfinal as Ben Stokes’ remarkable hundred and England skipper Eoin Morgan’s gritty 87 cast the spell over star-studded bowling line-up, as the Men in Yellow look rusty on the field.

At one stage, England was reeling at 35 for three in 5.4 overs, but the highlight of the day was Morgan-Stokes remarkable partnership of 159 for the fourth wicket which also saw both the batsman crossing past the highest partnership in One-day Internationals for England against Australia set by Allan Lamb and Derek Randall, registered in January, 1983 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The partnership was broken by Adam Zampa when he hit the bullseye to find Morgan short of his crease, who was batting on 87 off 81 deliveries as England lost their fourth wicket at 194 in 31.5 overs.

Earlier, while coming to bat in the second innings, England had an awful start which saw both the openers; Jason Roy and Alex Hales being sent back to the dressing room at the score of just six in 1.2 overs.

Roy (4 off 2), who is having a poor run of form, was trapped in front of the stumps by Mitchell Starc which further saw on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena raising his dreaded finger.

However, Roy while running down the non-striker’s end asked for a review straight away, but the TV replays suggested the ball was hitting stumps as third umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s decision.

The 28-year-old right-handed batsman Alex Hales struggled as he gets a big edge on the bowling of Hazlewood to see Aaron Finch (0 off 4) completing a low catch in the first slip.

Interestingly, Hales was among the runs for England in the first two games, as he posted two consecutive half centuries; 56 against New Zealand and 95 against Bangladesh.

Ever reliant, Joe Root (15 off 14 balls), who started off well in the eight-team tournament with a century followed by a half-century from Hazlewood, got a peach of a delivery which saw him hanging his bat only to see Matthew Wade completing a regulation catch.

 

As it seemed to be become a tradition now, England captain Eoin Morgan on Saturday morning won the toss and put Australia to bat owing to the overcast conditions at Edgbaston.

Australia openers give a cautious start as Aaron Finch and David Warner posted 40 on the board in 7.2 overs.

English bowlers drew the first blood, in the form of explosive left-handed batsman David Warner (21 off 25 balls), who edged Mark Wood’s delivery to see wicket-keeper Jos Buttler completing a catch.

Looking promising with the bat and enjoying his run against England, Aaron Finch registered vital 96 runs stand alongside skipper Steven Smith for the second wicket – to keep England bowlers at the bay for most of the time, in the first half-of-the play.

It was Josh Hazlewood, who lend a quality support to Head while posting crucial 23 runs on the board for the 10th wicket as Australia posted 277 for 9 on board.

The scorecard revealed Australia were dismal with the bat as they were 239 for four at one stage which further saw them reaching  the total of 254 for nine in 46.4 overs.

For England, Mark Wood with pace and Adil Rashid relying on his leg-spin, claimed four wickets each to rip apart the quality batting line-up of Australia.

Coming to the batting, Travis Head, Aaron Finch (68 off 64) and Steven Smith (56 off 77) registered fifties.

The left-handed batsman Head was the top-scorer for Australia as he remained not out on 71 off 64 deliveries which further saw his smashing five boundaries and two sixes.

At one stage Australia were cruising for a big score, but the visitors collapsed when they were 239 in 43rd over, which further saw England bowlers claiming last five wickets on just 15 runs.

The turning point in the Australian innings was explosive Glenn Maxwell (20 off 31), who was superbly caught by Jason Roy by swooping on the ball, while showing the presence of mind at the padded-up boundary in the deep.

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