England will face New Zealand in the World Cup final after an eight-wicket demolition of Australia at Edgbaston (England 1/4, New Zealand 3/1).
The hosts faced the side that beat them convincingly in the group stages and, at the time, looked to have severely dented their chances of advancing into the semi finals.
However, a barnstorming first seven overs on Thursday saw Australia reduced to 14-3 at Edgbaston with bowlers Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer impressing with the ball.
Warwickshire man Woakes, in particular, was outstanding on his home turf and took 3-20 during the Australia innings, in which their usually reliable top order collapsed.
Only Steve Smith can come away with any credit for the Aussies from a batting perspective as his 85 gave them a glimmer of hope but, after being run out by Jos Buttler, their challenge looked to be faltering.
A target of 224 was set for England and, aside from a controversial dismissal of Jason Roy – that cost him a potential century – they romped to the win on a wonderful day for Eoin Morgan’s side.
The hosts finished the job off with few problems as scores of 85 from Roy, 34 from Jonny Bairstow and efforts from Joe Root (49) and Morgan (45) all contributed to the crushing victory and they will now take on the Black Caps in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.
Captain Morgan says the performance was an indication of how good a team England are at the moment, while he reserved special praise for the bowling attack.
“If you told me after the last World Cup that we’d reach the final I wouldn’t have believed you. It sums up how far we have come in the last four years. Everyone should take a huge amount of credit,” he said.
“Today was close to a perfect performance, right from the two bowlers up front. Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer bowled a hell of a spell. They put pressure on with early wickets and allowed us to stay on the front foot.”
