ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Warne rates Australia XI after Semi-final Loss to England

Legendary Australian cricketer, Shane Warne, rated the Australian side after his side were trashed out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 by England. England out played Australia in the second semi-finals to book a place in the final against New Zealand on Sunday.

Warne, who rated all the 11 Australian players that played the semi-finals, was full of praise for Steve Smith. Smith was the stand-out performer for Australia in the semi-finals with a score of 85.

“Smith was fantastic. Without him Australia would have struggled to make 150, I thought he batted really well when wickets were falling around him. It was tough going for him,” Warne wrote on News.com.au.

Smith, unsurprisingly got the highest rating of the lot. Warne rated him eight points out of 10. Alex Carey, who batted bravely after getting hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer to score 46 off 70 balls was rated 7 out of ten. Carey played with a significant strapping on the jaw after the bouncer caused a nasty cut.

“I thought he batted really well after copping a nasty one. He showed a lot of courage and was very brave. I thought his innings was very good but he needed to bat for another 5-10 overs and Australia might have been able to post a good score,” Warne wrote about Carey.

The World Cup’s highest wicket taker, Mitchell Starc, wasn’t up to the mark on thursday and he recieved a fifer from the legendary leg spinner.

“He has been brilliant throughout the tournament but he just didn’t quite get his straps or have enough aggression against England. He didn’t bowl enough threatening deliveries or nasty short stuff to set the tone and was too full,” Warne wrote when giving Starc a five out of 10.

Warne was the most disappointed with the late entrant Peter Handscomb who was rated just three out of 10 for his 12 ball innings. “He should not have been in the team in the first place and he did not look like making a run. He should have been out three or four times during his brief innings,” Warne wrote.

Openers, Aaron Finch and David Warner, got four points each while all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell were rated 4 and 5 respectively.

Warne was happy with fast bowler Pat Cummins’s effort and handed out seven points to him. Other bowlers, Jason Behrendroff and Nathan Lyon were given four and five points respectively.