Australia thrash England to reach T20 tri-series final

Australia cruised to a seven-wicket win over England to book a place in the final of the the Twenty20 tri-series in Melbourne on Saturday. Solid knocks by Glenn Maxwell, Chris Lynn and D’arcy Short helped Australia chase England’s modest total of 137 runs with more than five overs to spare.

Australia's batsman Glenn Maxwell plays a shot as England's wicketkeeper Jos Butller looks on during the Twenty20 International Tri-Series cricket match between England and Australia. CON CHRONIS / AFP

Batting first, England batsmen were kept in check by a disciplined bowling performance by the hosts.

Pacemen Kane Richardson and Billy Stanlake spearheaded Australia’s bowling attack as they shared five wickets between them.

England were reeling at 34 for three in the fourth over before Jos Buttler, who struck 46 and Sam Billings, who was dismissed on 29, steadied the ship.

Australia too got off to a shaky start as their captain David Warner was dismissed for just two runs.

However, England failed to make any quick inroads as Short and Lynn combined to put a 49-run partnership for the second wicket.

Lynn’s dismissal didn’t bring much joy to England as Maxwell hammered 39 runs of just 26 balls and set a 65-run partnership with Short who anchored the innings with an unbeaten 36 runs.

With this win, Australia are now in the final of the tournament after having beaten both England and beating New Zealand in their opening two matches.