England’s hopes of reaching the Cricket World semi-finals have officially come to an end after a 33-run defeat to Australia. This loss marked their fifth consecutive defeat and sixth overall in a disappointing tournament. Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s rain-affected victory over New Zealand sealed England’s fate as they no longer had a chance of making it to the top four. England’s batting performance failed once again, with their final score of 253 falling short of Australia’s 286. Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan, and Moeen Ali showed some promise in their innings, but wickets fell too quickly, and England couldn’t recover. Despite an impressive bowling effort from Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid, England couldn’t overcome their batting struggles. With two remaining matches against Netherlands and Pakistan, England’s focus now shifts to restoring pride and aiming for a top-eight finish to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Australia, on the other hand, moves closer to the semi-finals with their fifth consecutive victory, although their batting performance showed some weaknesses. The top-ranked teams, India and South Africa, will face each other in the next match, with both already securing their spots in the semi-finals.