Usman is not looking great in all honesty: Finch

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May 25, 2019
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"It's going to be a blockbuster" - Finch on Australia vs England semifinal. © AFP


Australia will face England in Birmingham in the second semifinal following their ten-run loss to South Africa, finishing second on the point table below India. However, for fans and players alike, it has resulted in a highly-anticipated clash now that the arch-rivals will take on each other in Birmingham.


The two times that the two sides have clashed in the tournament - once in the warm-up and another in the league stage - Australia got the better of England on both occasions. But since that league game where Australia beat England by 64 runs, the hosts have roared back with much zeal to get their campaign back on track with two successive wins.


"It's going to be a blockbuster," Australia captain Aaron Finch said on Saturday (July 6). "It doesn't get much bigger than that, Australia v England in the World Cup semi-finals. Playing well at Lord's a couple of weeks ago obviously will give us some confidence going into that game.


"There's been a lot of build-up to the World Cup and especially getting to the pointy end, England have been in really good form recently so we are going to have to be at our absolute best to win that. But it's going to be exciting. Any time Australia plays England, it's exciting. But any time you are in Birmingham as well. It's a fun crowd to play in front of, there is always plenty of support there for both sides. It's going to be a great atmosphere and spectacle."


Australia can take heart from the South Africa loss in terms of how they ended up just 10 short of the 300-plus total despite a top order failure. David Warner scored another stellar century, and with Alex Carey's 69-ball 85, the pair left Australia within stone's throw to the finish line. They, however, were bowled out for 315, having been initially set back by Usman Khawaja retiring hurt with a hamstring injury in as early as the fifth over. They are also found fretting about Marcus Stoinis's aggravated side injury, which had forced him to miss two games earlier in the tournament. Finch confirmed that Stoinis will have scans on Sunday to determine the full extent of his injury.


"Usman is not looking great in all honesty. He has done a couple of hammies before and it feels a bit similar to that. So in terms of replacements, we haven't had time to sit down and talk about that yet. Marcus is just a bit sore in his side. It's tough to talk about replacements when you haven't got the full story. We will get that (on Sunday)."