We were totally outplayed, admits Australia captain

BIRMINGHAM: Australia captain Aaron Finch conceded on Thursday that his team was totally outplayed by old foes England in a one-sided World Cup semi-final here at Edgbaston.

Visibly disappointed after the defending champions were thrashed by England by eight wickets and 107 balls remaining, was all praise for England who restricted Australia to just 223 and then chased it down in just 32.1 overs.

"Totally outplayed today, the way they had us 27 for 3 after ten set the tone,” said Finch as Australia lost in a World Cup semi-final for the first time in the event’s history.

“You expect the new ball to come on any surface, they bowled a great length.

“Still a lot of positives to take out of the World Cup campaign, we've come a long way since the last time we were in England. You always want to win, you come thinking you can win, but there have been positives, even the last six months, lot of backs to the wall and a lot of character on show.

“But it still hurts. We tried to change it up, looking for wicket-taking options. They played exceptionally well, know how dynamic, dominating they are.”

Australia suffered a couple of setback when two of their players were ruled out of Thursday’s clash but Finch said he is not offering any excuses for a timid Australian performance.

“One of those days, we didn't execute as we could have and you get hurt by a good team. You've got to beat everyone, so can't read too much into that. We came here with a couple injuries but that's not an excuse. We came here wanting to win but it wasn't to be,” he said.