England into World Cup final against New Zealand after eight-wicket win at Edgbaston
Friday 12 July 2019 11:49, UK
England are in the Cricket World Cup final - Andrew Strauss rates the team's players after a momentous day at Edgbaston...
Read Strauss' grades below after England thumped Australia by eight wickets in Birmingham, with local lad Chris Woakes, plus Jofra Archer and Jason Roy firing before Joe Root and Eoin Morgan steered the hosts home.
Watch England take on New Zealand in the World Cup final live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (channel 404), Sky One and Channel 4 from 9am on Sunday...
Jason Roy - 9/10
85 off 65 balls; 9x fours, 5x sixes
There was a lot of hype around Roy leading into this game and he delivered perfectly. Outstanding batting, control, aggression and some outrageously strong hitting against the spinners.
Jonny Bairstow - 7/10
34 off 43 balls; 5x fours
Along with Roy he continued their phenomenal opening partnership, the only black mark was using up a review pointlessly for an absolutely stone-dead lbw.
Joe Root - 8/10
49 off 46 balls; 8x fours
He performed his role in seeing the team over the line perfectly, doing what was asked of him.
Eoin Morgan - 9/10
45 off 39 balls; 8x fours
He deserves a lot of credit for getting England in the right frame of mind to play a must-win game in a positive, aggressive manner. He was positive in the field, always looking for the aggressive option and to take wickets. When he came in to bat, he got over the initial short-ball barrage.
Ben Stokes - 6/10
0-22 (4 overs)
A largely anonymous role - he was not required with the bat and he only bowled a few overs with the ball. It was fantastic for England to be able to win without a contribution from Stokes.
Jos Buttler - 6/10
England's big-game player. Everyone thought he would have to play a big role but, actually, was surplus to requirements. However, his run out of Smith was important and his keeping was tidy.
Chris Woakes - 9/10
3-20 (8 overs)
England's unsung hero throughout the World Cup - he started off brilliantly with the new ball and he got the prize wicket of David Warner.
Liam Plunkett - 6/10
0-44 (8 overs)
He did not make much of an impact with most of the hard work done before he came on to bowl.
Adil Rashid - 7/10
3-54 (10 overs)
It was Adil's best bowling performance in the World Cup. He performed his role of taking wickets in the middle overs fantastically and it was a great googly to get rid of Marcus Stoinis.
Jofra Archer - 9/10
2-32 (10 overs)
This was the biggest game of his career and he delivered beautifully with the new ball and then produced some very clever variations at the back end to get rid of Glenn Maxwell.
Mark Wood - 7/10
1-45 (9 overs)
He showed good pace again, not necessarily on the best pitch for him, and he performed his role well.
Watch the World Cup final between New Zealand and England live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup and Main Event from 9am on Sunday.
