TOPIC:

Watching Maxwell bat reminds me a lot of watching Perth. Brief tantalising moments of excitement but invariably by the end of it you're just left shaking your head. The way Smith looked at him summed up how I felt too.

Recon 3 things need to fall in place.For the Aussies to get out of this one.Good bowling -good fielding -bad English batting.

224 about 50 under par I reckon. England should win this in a canter unless Starc and Co can replicate the NZ bowlers with 3 wickets in the first 10 overs. Australia were once again let down by weak batting by Stonis and Maxwell after Smith and Carey had brought them back into the game

We've become too soft. When Bairstow can stop play because a sliding door in the grand stand is open which is not directly in the line of the bowlers arm then we've lost the plot. Imagine Thommo or Lillee letting that happen.

I have little doubt now that England will win the world cup. They have made us look 2nd rate today and whilst the Kiwis will give them a better run for their money I think England have all their bases covered.

In footy terms, we copped a 20-goal thrashing.
Well played, England, far too good.
The odds of New Zealand pulling off another upset victory will be prohibitive, but I hope the Kiwis can produce an extraordinary performance.
The To and From supporters will be even more insufferable than normal if their side wins the World Cup.

Ouch that was a good ole touch up there....well played Eng...got the early wickets....and the openers got off to the start needed....too many passengers today and TBH tthroughout the tournament....Stoinis and Maxy were below par....time for Aust to have look at the likes of Cam Green, Will Sutherland etc for the next WC campaign....Aust did well to go deep considering 6 months ago they were ranked 7/8 on the ODI table....

Despite the flogging I think there are a lot of positives that Australia can take from the tournament.
Finch batted and captained the side very well. Warner was the most prolific batsman in the tournament along with Rohit Sharma, interestingly both failed in the semi finals and their teams lost.
Smith returned and batted like he had never been absent. In Carey we have found a 10 year test player for Australia and with a 'Steve Waugh' type steel which was obvious to everyone who watched him last night. Lyon showed he could adapt his skills to an ODI, Starc of course was just outstanding as usual and Jason Berendorff was very good . I thought he was the only bowler to stick to a reasonable line and length in last nights onslaught. Of course there were disappointments as well, the three main ones being Maxwell, Stoinis and Zampa. Certainly something to build on for the next world cup though. From where they were 12 months ago, I would give this campaign a tick despite last nights thrashing.
As for England they seem to be on a unstoppable charge of momentum so good luck to NZ with that one. Jason Roy seems to be England's barometer and sets the tone for the rest of the batting. He is one of the most aggressive English batsmen I have seen and he was only deprived of a century last night by an appalling umpiring decision. NZ will have to get him out in the power play to have any hope but then you have Root, Morgan ,Stokes Butler.... coming at you. Well they beat India I guess but this is going up another few notches I reckon for the Kiwis.
Oh well on to the Ashes.

Beasley Hutton wrote: Looks like a NZ vs ENG World Cup Final coming up on Sunday.
Australia picking 3 Vics was always going to be a recipe for disaster.

I posted this only 2.3 overs into last nights game and it proved emphatic.
Handscomb was a poor choice to replace Khawaja as Dazz posted what do the selectors see in this bloke that the rest of the cricket following world cant, has the worst technique I have just about ever seen.
Maxwell proved to be the "No Show" for the entire tournament and time to move on from this Vic under achiever.
Stoinis built like Tarzan and plays like Jane, should have gone with M.Marsh.

Yep, well said BH and Mike.

Spinners, allrounders and a few decent middle order batsmen. Just a few minor things to fix then?

FMD if we had of qualified and some how pinched it it would have been the biggest steal of all time. India and the poms are miles in front of us in one day cricket.

Yep, some real good finds at this WC but a heap to fix up exposed too.