Birmingham, July 10 -- For England to advance to the Cricket World Cup final in front of its own fans, Australia must do something it has never done before in seven previous semifinals at the tournament.

Lose.

Five-time champion Australia and six-time semifinalist England meet Thursday at Edgbaston in an eagerly awaited match with the winner playing India or New Zealand in Sunday's final at Lord's.

Eoin Morgan's England team goes into the Birmingham game on the back of convincing wins against India and New Zealand but it also proved unexpectedly vulnerable earlier in the group stage with losses to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia.

Barely two weeks ago, Australia ripped through England's batters with left-arm quicks Jason Behrendorff ...