Semi-final rout raises Australia’s Ashes anxiety

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SYDNEY, July 12, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Australian media lamented their team’s
“shellacking” by England in the Cricket World Cup semi-final Friday, warning
it was an ominous harbinger for the upcoming Ashes series.

Hosts England humbled Australia to secure an eight-wicket win at Edgbaston
and set up a decider on Sunday against tournament surprise package New
Zealand at Lord’s.

The Age’s Jon Pierik said the five-time champions were “chastened” after a
one-sided defeat, pointing to a string of injuries that disrupted Australia’s
momentum.

“Their campaign fell apart from the moment Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell
were hurt in a torrid net session in Manchester,” he wrote.

“Two days later, (Usman) Khawaja strained a hamstring in the shock defeat
to South Africa — only their second loss of the tournament to that point.”

ABC cricket correspondent Geoff Lemon said Australia’s weakened line-up had
no answers to an England bowling attack that finally matched the achievements
of their free-scoring batters.

“It was the local bowlers who brought the fire. Right from the top, this
was England bowling with serious heat,” he said, noting it was the first time
Australia had lost in eight semi-final appearances.

Just last month, former Australian captain Mark Taylor warned an England
failure at the World Cup would severely dent their confidence in the Ashes
Test series, which begins next month.

But such was England’s dominance at Edgbaston that The Australian’s
Jacquelin Magnay warned it was the men from Down Under who should be worried.

“The Australian loss should set alarm bells ringing for the upcoming Ashes
series, even though the team achieved a lot more than what would have been
expected a year ago,” she wrote.

Magnay said the campaign had produced positives for a team that was in
disarray last year after the sandpaper-gate cheating scandal.

“Certainly, the captaincy of Aaron Finch, the reliability of Steve Smith
and the emergence of Alex Carey as an elite middle-order batsman have been
huge wins for Australia throughout this tournament,” she wrote.

“But the fragility of the batting order under sustained pressure is a
worry.”