Cricket World Cup History: Top 3 clashes between Australia and England at the mega event

The most historic rivalry in the sport of cricket, England vs Australia, will get a new chapter added today as the teams clash in a group stage encounter of the ICC World Cup 2019 at Lord's. Both Australia and England have performed well in the initial phase of the tourney and they are two of the top 4 teams in the points table.

England haven't defeated Australia in a World Cup match since 1992 but today, the hosts need to win this one in order to solidify their candidature for the semifinals. On the other hand, Aaron Finch's men will look to maintain their good World Cup record versus their arch-rivals and seal their position in the semifinals with a win here.

Australia have a 5-2 World Cup head-to-head record against England. Here are the top 3 World Cup clashes between the two teams.

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#3 Match 2, ICC World Cup 2015

England v Australia - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

Australia and England met in the second match of the ICC World Cup 2015 in front of a jam-packed MCG crowd. England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Australian openers built a 50-run opening stand but a double strike from Stuart Broad brought England back in the game.

Steve Smith lost his wicket soon which left Australia reeling at 70-3 after 10.3 overs. Captain George Bailey then joined forces with Aaron Finch to stitch a 146-run partnership for the 4th wicket.

Finch crossed the three-figure milestone in that innings; the current Aussie captain aggregated 135 runs off 128 balls.

A brilliant finish from the trio of Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Marsh took Australia to 342/9. Steven Finn took a hat-trick off the last three balls but his efforts did not make much difference.

Chasing 343, England were never in the chase as Mitchell Marsh picked a 5-wicket haul to reduce England to 92-6. James Taylor played the role of a lone warrior but he did not get support from the other end as England lost the match by 111 runs.

#2 Match 37, ICC World Cup 2003

Andy Bichel of Australia celebrates the wicket of Michael Vaughan of England

The St. George's Park of Elizabeth hosted the iconic match between arch-rivals England and Australia in the 2003 World Cup. While the fans had their eyes on the likes of Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel emerged as the unlikely hero as he single-handedly won the match for Australia.

English captain Nasser Hussain won the toss and opted to bat first. Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick put up 66 runs for the first wicket before McGrath sent the latter back. Andy Bichel then came into the attack and derailed the English innings as he dismissed 7 English batsmen in his 10-over spell.

Bichel had figures of 10-0-20-7 in an innings where the opposition team posted a total of 204/8 on the board.

Bichel's day did not end here as later in the second innings, he played a superb knock of 34 runs to guide his team home in the final over. Michael Bevan too remained unbeaten on 74 as Australia defeated England by 2 wickets in the cliffhanger.

#1 Final, Reliance World Cup 1987

1987 Cricket World Cup Final Australia v England

Perennial rivals Australia and England qualified for the final of the first ever Cricket World Cup hosted outside the United Kingdom as the two teams battled for the prestigious trophy at Eden Gardens.

Allan Border chose to bat first in the big game. Openers David Boon and Geoff Marsh laid the platform for Dean Jones, Allan Border and Mike Veletta as the Aussie batsmen combined forces to post 253 on the scoreboard.

In the 2nd innings, England lost their opener Tim Robinson very early in the innings but number 3 batsman Bill Athey scored a half-century to keep England alive. The match went down to the wire with England needing 17 runs off the final over. But Craig McDermott conceded a mere 9 runs in his six deliveries to set up Australia's first ever World Cup win.

The entire Eden Gardens erupted in joy as Allan Border's men overcame the English challenge to win the tournament.