‘It hurts a lot’: England officially eliminated from World Cup after Adam Zampa’s all-round

England has officially been eliminated from the World Cup after the reigning champions suffered a 33-run loss to Australia at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.

Tasked with chasing a 287-run target for victory, England was rolled for 253 in 48.1 overs, ending any minor chance they had of progressing to the semi-finals.

Mitchell Starc claimed two wickets in the Powerplay before leg-spinner Adam Zampa, later named player of the match, tore through England’s woeful middle order, taking 3-21 in an economical ten-over spell.

Earlier, a patient half-century from Marnus Labuschagne and some late fireworks from Zampa steered Australia towards 286 all out, with England seamer Chris Woakes claiming four wickets.

Opener Dawid Malan and all-rounder Ben Stokes cracked fifties early in the run chase, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Australians from clinching their fifth consecutive victory of the tournament.

MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs England scorecard

Australia, currently third on the World Cup standings, need one victory from their remaining two group stage matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals — barring a dramatic net run rate overhaul.

Meanwhile, England becomes the first defending champions to be knocked out in the group stage of a World Cup since Australia achieved the unwanted feat in 1992.

“To be stood here in this position after arriving in India with very high hopes is incredibly tough and incredibly disappointing,” England captain Jos Buttler said in the post-match presentation.

“It hurts a lot.

“We haven’t done ourselves justice.

“We feel like we’ve let ourselves down. We’ve let people down at home, the people who support us through thick and thin.”

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Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl first in Ahmedabad, with Woakes removing both of Australia’s openers in the Powerplay. Travis Head tried to guide a length delivery from Woakes through third man, instead edging towards Joe Root at first slip for 11. A few overs later, Warner top-edged a pull shot against Woakes on 15, with David Willey settling underneath the regulation catch at mid-wicket.

Labuschagne and Steve Smith steadied the ship, combining for a 75-run partnership for the third wicket before leg-spinner Adil Rashid ripped the heart of Australia’s middle order with a couple of crucial breakthroughs. Smith chased a wide delivery in the 22nd over, slicing the ball towards Moeen Ali at short third man for 44. Not long after, Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis attempted an audacious reverse sweep against Rashid on 3, gifting Ali his second catch of the afternoon.

Despite the double blow, Labuschagne picked up the tempo at the other end, bringing up his tenth ODI half-century in 63 deliveries. The Queenslander shared a 61-run partnership with all-rounder Cameron Green before falling victim to speedster Mark Wood, trapped on the pads for 71, his highest score of the tournament. He wasted a review before trudging off.

Green and Wood were locked in an entertaining battle through the middle overs, with the West Australian at one stage throwing his bat 15 meters after botching a pull shot against the Durham quick. He looked destined for a half-century before losing his patience on 47, attempting a premeditated paddle against Willey that crashed into his leg stump.

Marcus Stoinis, who returned from a calf injury this week, cleared the boundary rope twice before picking out cow corner for 35, giving part-time spinner Liam Livingstone his first breakthrough of the match. The following over, Australian captain Pat Cummins miscued a slog against Wood, caught a mid-wicket by Malan for 10.

Australia’s tail was exposed with more than five overs remaining, but Zampa slapped a valuable 29 (19) at the death to steer his side towards a respectable total. Woakes cleaned up the tail, taking two wickets in the final over to finish with 4-54, his best bowling performance in World Cups.

England’s run chase got off to a horror start, with opener Jonny Bairstow departing for a golden duck after strangling a loosener from Starc down the leg side. Later in the same over, Australia reviewed an LBW decision against Root, with Hawkeye suggesting the ball would have bounced over leg stump.

A couple of overs later, Stoinis dropped a low chance at cover to gift Root an extra life on 7, leaving the field shortly after for medical attention. Thankfully for the Australians, Stoinis’ blunder didn’t prove too costly — in Starc’s following over, Cummins successfully overturned a caught behind decision against Root, with a small spike appearing on Snicko when the ball passed his bat.

Stokes and Malan combined for a steady 84-run partnership, with the English opener reaching his half-century in 62 deliveries. However, Malan departed for 50 on his very next delivery, top-edging a pull shot against Cummins that sailed towards Head at deep fine leg.

England desperately needed a captain’s knock from Buttler, but the wicketkeeper recklessly charged down the pitch at Zampa and holed out to long-on for 1. The Australians could smell blood.

Ali and Stokes picked up the tempo after the drinks break, nailing a handful of boundaries to send scare through the Australian camp. The Durham all-rounder brought up his 23rd ODI fifty with a thumping six over deep mid-wicket, reaching the minor milestone in 74 balls.

However, Stokes’ counterattacking knock came to an unexpected end in the 36th over, sweeping a wayward half-tracker from Zampa directly towards Stoinis at short fine-leg. In the following over, Livingstone became Cummins’ second victim of the evening after pulling a short delivery towards mid-wicket, where substitute fielder Sean Abbott latched onto a superb diving catch.

When Zampa removed Ali in the 40th over, caught at cow corner by Warner for 42, the match outcome seemed an inevitability. The leg-spinner, having reclaimed his mantle as leading wicket-taker of the tournament, became the first cricketer to take at least three wickets in five consecutive World Cup matches.

The New South Welshman capped off his golden evening with a stunning outfield catch to send Willey back to the sheds for 15.

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Woakes and Rashid provided some late resistance, collectively scoring 52 runs to keep the run chase alive — but it was too little, too late.

The Australian team wore black armbands in the field to acknowledge the death of Mitchell Marsh’s grandfather, who passed away on Friday.

Australia will next face Afghanistan at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday evening, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT.