Watch the highlights of Australia vs England 18th Match Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992 - Benson & Hedges World Cup tournament of the 18th ODI match played between England and Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on 05th March 1992.
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| Ian Botham celebrates after taking a wicket of Allan Border © ICC / Digital Cricket TV |
All-rounder Ian Botham's career-best four-wicket haul with a solid half-century and captain Graham Gooch's fifty helped to England emphatic eight-wicket victory over Australia in a one-sided game of 18th match of a Benson and Hedges World Cup.
Australia 106 for 3 to bowled out for 171 in 49 overs with top scorer by Tom Moody struck 51 off 88-balls including 3-fours.
Steve Waugh cracked a 27 off 43-balls including two-fours, Dean Jones scored 22 off 49-balls included 2-fours.
David Boon hit 18 off 27-balls including 2-fours and Allan Border scored 16 off 22-balls included a boundary.
England best bowler by Ian Botham claimed a 4-wickets for 31-runs, Dermot Reeve, Phil DeFreitas, Derek Pringle and Phil Tufnell each took one-wickets.
England chase down the target of 172, finishing at 173 for 2 in 40.5 overs with top scorer by Graham Gooch cracked a 58 off 112-balls including 7-fours.
Ian Botham struck 53 off 77-balls and Robin Smith hit a unbeaten 30 off 58-balls included 5-fours.
Australia best bowler by Mike Whitney and Steve Waugh both took one-wickets.
Ian Botham named Player of the match for his match-winning all-round performance to scored a 53 off 77-balls including 6-fours after claiming a career-best 4-wickets for 31-runs in 10-overs including a maiden with economy rate of 3.10.
This match reported by The Canberra Times Staff (Third Party Reference from The Canberra Times)
"Cyclone Ian" Botham ravaged the Australian cricket team and left it cowering in the World Cup cellar at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Botham took 4-0 in seven balls to send the restructured Australian batting order crashing to 171 all out, then looted the bowling for a quick- fire 53 in a stunning man-of-the-match performance.
It was a memorable return to the SCG for the 36-year-old England all-rounder, whose last international appearance here was in the victorious World Series Cup team in 1986-87.
Botham didn't play in the last World Cup in India, where Australia narrowly pipped England for the mantle of world champion, but exacted a telling revenge last night in front of 38,951 fans.
The ease of England's eight-wicket win spelt doom and gloom for Australia, now lying second-last on the World Cup table with just one win from four games and ahead of only minnow Zimbabwe.
England, in contrast, has seven points from four matches and is virtually assured of a place in the semi- finals later this month.
There are four more round-robin matches ahead for Australia, and it has to win every one to have any chance against Sri Lanka in Adelaide on Friday, Pakistan in Perth next Wednesday, Zimbabwe in Hobart on March 14 and last a day- nighter against the West Indies in Melbourne in two weeks.
Australian captain Allan Border said. "The bottom line is we have to win the remainder of our games and win well."
Border added that England and New Zealand could do Australia a favour if they kept winning their matches to leave a large group of teams to fight it out for mid-table positions.
None of the English Press predictions about crowd riots proved true yesterday as the only major disturbances came from Botham, who has spent much of the past year involved with friendly children's pantomimes rather than acts of destruction.
The match was evenly poised with Australia 4-145 in the 38th over when Botham struck by bowling Border (12) with the fifth ball of his seventh over.
With the first, third and fifth balls of his next over he removed lan Healy (9), Peter Taylor (0) and Craig McDermott (0) as Australia lost 4-10 in a total collapse of 8-65.
Botham finished with a personal best of 4-31 from his 10 overs to become the competition's leading wicket-taker with nine, then smacked 53 from just 79 balls with six fours in an opening stand of 107 with captain Graham Gooch (58) which left England cruising to its eventual total of 2-173 in 40.5 overs.
Promoted to open the innings and give England valuable starts in this tournament, Botham had made subdued knocks of 9, 8 and 6 not out before breaking the shackles.
He hammered Bruce Reid (0-49 from 7.5 overs) out of the attack and showed scant regard for Craig McDermott, who finished with 0-29 from his 10, and only a full-stretch diving one-handed catch from Healy ended his innings.
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