The weather
There's no doubt the rain played a major role in Australia's campaign and while it may have helped them escape with a point against New Zealand when they were behind in the game, it certainly cost them a victory against Bangladesh at The Oval. And the two washed out games (plus the washed-out warm-up match against Pakistan) denied most of the squad, particularly the batsmen, valuable time in the middle heading into their must-win game against England. It meant their campaign never got any real momentum and it hurt them at Edgbaston on Saturday.
What they said
"We've played a lot of cricket in the past 12 months. Everyone's been in good form. Going into it we had great preparation, good weather, we had one practice game and a couple of really good centre-wicket training sessions. So there's no real excuses on that front. We knew we had to be ready when the opportunity comes so I think everyone's prep going into every game has been really good. So I can't fault that." - Travis Head
England are really, really good
The hosts are tournament favourites for a reason and they proved why on Saturday with a superb display, despite a wobble early in both innings. While much has been made of their fearless batting over the past two years, which fired again in Birmingham, England's bowling stood up brilliantly after Australia had got off to a strong start. The pace and fire provided by Mark Wood and Jake Ball early on is perfectly supported by the clever change-ups of Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes in the middle overs, while Adil Rashid is their ace in the pack on pitches that provide any turn.
What they said
"England are the form side. They're the only team that's won three games. They've got great fast bowlers that can knock a team over at the top, a great spinner in Rashid who can really restrict and take wickets through that middle part. And their batting speaks for itself. They go all-out attack, they never let the game drift and they're always in a position to take it on. They're a pretty formidable side when things go their way." - Aaron Finch
The end of a long season
Captain Steve Smith doesn't believe a long season contributed to his side's early exit, adding player fatigue would be "no excuse" even if it was a factor. The Champions Trophy was the last stop on a long campaign that has effectively seen most members of the squad playing and training constantly since last October. Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell have been on the road since the start of the India Test tour in early February (Pat Cummins and Marcus Stoinis joined them midway through that series) while five other members of the 15-man squad played in the Indian Premier League almost immediately following the end of the Australian summer.
What they said
"The Australians all the way through this tournament, they seem a little flat, a little jaded. A lot of these players have been on the road since January for the Test series in India followed immediately by the IPL. A lot of the guys went straight from the IPL to the Champions Trophy. They’ve been on the road for four-five months. It probably has a lot to do with how they’ve played their cricket. They’ve been unusually sloppy. Look at their batting today - they got off to a really good start with guys getting 20-30s, Finch getting (68) and not going on with it. That mental edge has gone after being on the road for so long. They’ve been rundown, worn out by the game." - Ricky Ponting
The curse of Edgbaston and the early summer
Two factors that have been Australia's kryptonite in the past - playing in Birmingham and early in the English summer - conspired against them in this tournament. Over the past decade, Australia have now won just two of 14 one-day internationals in the UK during June and July compared to 11 of 15 in September, which would be a concern ahead of their World Cup defence here in June and July of 2019. Saturday's defeat at Edgbaston also means Australia have now won just one of their past 16 matches there stretching back to 1993, although five of those matches have been washed out. And as the noise coming from the Eric Hollies Stand on Saturday proved, Birmingham can be a hostile place to play if you're an Australian.
What they said
"The crowd here have been brilliant for us for the last couple of years. They get right behind us. I don't think there's anything malicious in it, but they come, have a good time, and hopefully we entertain them." - Eoin Morgan
They just weren't good enough
This is probably the most important and galling factor for Smith's side. The weather meant Australia's fate came down to a clash against the tournament favourites and England were definitely the better team in Birmingham on Saturday. While Australia started well with both bat and ball, the hosts fought back admirably in both innings and ultimately cruised to victory. After an impressive start with the ball, the loose bowling that hurt Australia against New Zealand returned and Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan took full advantage. And after such a good start with the bat, collapses of 3-45 and then 5-15 meant Australia's total was always below par on what was a good surface for batting.
What they said
"I thought we let ourselves down a little bit today. We got ourselves in a pretty good position early with the bat ... we kept losing wickets through the middle, and someone in the top four probably needed to go on and make a hundred. We weren't able to do that. We lost five for 15 at one point as well, which you can't afford to do against an opposition like England. I thought we started reasonably well with the ball. To get three early wickets was quite crucial, and then it seemed like there was a bit of a momentum shift after that rain delay. Stokesy and Morgy came out and played very positively. We were off a bit with the way we were bowling. We gave them a lot of freebies, but they did play exceptionally well." - Steve Smith
Champions Trophy 2017 Guide
Squads: Every Champions Trophy nation
Schedule
2 June – New Zealand v Australia, No Result
4 June – India beat Pakistan by 124 runs
5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, No Result
6 June – England beat New Zealand by 87 runs
11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)
12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)
14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)
15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)
19 June – Reserve day (D)
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