So the end came not with a bang, but with a series of whimpers. Defending champions, the home team, and still punted from the Twenty20 World Cup in the group stage, Australia’s early finish was put in place piece by piece.
The hosts couldn’t stop Ireland or Afghanistan from smashing runs, and couldn’t rack up a big enough score to dominate either. Failure was confirmed when a limp England flopped past Sri Lanka, in turn passing Australia to claim a semi-final spot that neither team really deserved.
