Wood, Stokes close the door on Australia
In another rain-hit game at the Champions Trophy, England got the better of Australia and knocked them out of the tournament
In another rain-hit game at the Champions Trophy, England got the better of Australia and knocked them out of the tournament
Scorer: Sanjay Murari | Commentator: Alan Gardner
6.45pm: Right, seems like we're not going to get the presentations today. The rain came down but, by then, England had pretty much mopped the floor with Australia anyway - which was all the more impressive having been 35 for 3. They march into the semi-finals with a third straight win and will be in confident mood ahead of facing whoever comes second in Group B. Daniel Brettig's report will be in the slot shortly and we'll have plenty more to come on the site from George Dobell, Jarrod Kimber and Mel Farrell at the ground - possibly from Mohammad Isam in Dhaka, too. Anyway, thanks for all your comments and company, as ever. England have just equalised against Scotland in the football and I'm off to calculate NRR permutations for Ind-SA and Pak-SL. From Miller and myself, it's over and out. Bye!
6.35pm: Match abandoned, England win by 40 runs on DLS, it's all over at Edgbaston - which means Bangladesh are in last four! Break out the, er, soda water in downtown Dhanmondi, the Tigers have roared past Australia into the semi-finals.
"Welcome everyone to Bangladesh to join the today's celebration," chirrups Asib Auvi. "Ohh another thing while coming pls bring enough preparation. You might need to stay till final celebration. "
Omar is enjoying himself: "YESSSSSSSSSSSSS ... WOOHOOOOO.... can you hear us ROAR from Bangladesh over there??? We are ROARING!!!"
The plaudits keep coming: "Bangladesh is also rank quite high on density of population," notes Viranchi.
"Why are 90% of comments about Bangladesh? This win is a very big deal for England, and an exceptional performance all round!!" Well, Jez, crushing England victories are so de rigueur nowadays. But you're right, they have made another big statement about their white-ball capabilities...
"So the last time Australia won a game in CT was way back in 2009." That is spot on, Nilesh, as they were knocked out with only one point, from a washout, in 2013.
6.25pm: This match between two old rivals looks to be fizzling out - but there's another stramash with a bit of history currently going on at Hampden Park. You can follow Scotland v England (and the other World Cup qualifiers) over at ESPNFC.
"To understand the passion of Bangladeshi fans for cricket, you need to know that Cricket is the only thing except for corruption we are in top 10 in the world." Actually, Sid, I think you'll find Bangladesh is not even in the top (bottom?) 30 for that any more...
"The bashing about Aussies is unfair, they didn't have a full game in the tournament. If rain wasn't a problem, Aussies, NZ and Bangladesh all would have ended up with 2 points," points out chotu. True, but even that's worthy of a little Aussie-ribbing, no? They're ranked No. 2 in the world
6.15pm: It looks filthy around Edgbaston right now, rain gusting through and the stands rapidly emptying. Some fairly heavy rain was expected this evening and I suspect we might not get back on... "So Alan, we can start invading streets in an hour?" Possibly even sooner, Abir Utsha. Given it's 3am in Melbourne, I won't try and string our Aussie readership along.
"As a Bangladeshi I'm obviously ecstatic that they are going through to the semifinals," cheers Tahmid. "But I think it also bodes well for cricket in general as it keeps things fresh and unpredictable! We need more Leicester type moments in cricket too!!" I'm not sure Bangladesh were 5000-1 to get to the Champions Trophy semis... but I take your point. Hathurusingha the BD Tinkerman?
Imtiaz: "What happens if a semi final is washed out due to rain? How will the winner be decided?" Whoever comes first in the group. So England and (most likely) the winner of India-SA
6.05pm: We have around half an hour until they start losing overs, I'm told. And the official cut-off time to get back on and finish is 7.14pm.
"FWI, Here in Winnipeg, Canada, we're also cheering for Bangladesh," says Elise. "No street parties though, it's raining here also." Magnificent
"What is happening in F1 qualifying in Canadian Grand Prix?" Why don't you go and find out, Arijit Upadhyay? But do come back
"If it's called off early, I hear there's a great bar called 'Walkabout' where both sides could go for a friendly drink and a laugh together," snickers Jamie Dow, possibly while wearing a silly wig as a beard
6pm: The ground is once again swaddled in tarps, rain whizzing down and greasing Bangladesh's path into the last four. George says "someone at the ICC has been timing how long it takes to get the covers on - 37 seconds here". They've certainly had the practice.
"Alan, I think you are making too much fun about Bangladeshi supporters and their passion about cricket," murmurs Mahmud. "Publishing too many negative comments about them indicates it as well." We have utmost respect for Bangladesh fans and their love for cricket... All reports of street-invading, flag-waving celebrations will be treated seriously
And now the rain returns and the players are going off... What an anti-climax. England are currently 40 runs ahead of the DLS par score of 200 for 4 and Australia's soggy stay at the Champions Trophy looks about to end, one way or another.
Ahoy there!
Ten to go, though I doubt we'll need that many. Here's Alan to wrap it up and apply a bow
Himanshu Chandr: "Lions hunting kangaroos to feed them for tigers, meanwhile kiwis flying back home. Things getting interesting in #CT17 Jungle" #scenes
Getting a touch dark out there. "Covers ready," says George
Tremendous spot from Bharath Seervi: Three well-set partnerships have ended exactly for 159 runs in this Champions Trophy. Hales-Root v Ban, Gunathilaka-Mendis v Ind, Morgan-Stokes v Aus
The England allrounder stated that his unbeaten 102, which knocked Australia out of the Champions Trophy, was his best innings in a chase
Ben Stokes' unbeaten 102 off 109 balls is his highest ODI score, and second hundred in three innings
Steven Smith insisted there were no excuses for his side's unsuccessful campaign
Ben Stokes saw off the swinging new ball before unleashing his raw power to dump Australia out of the Champions Trophy
In another rain-hit game at the Champions Trophy, England got the better of Australia and knocked them out of the tournament