The sun rises in the west and sets in the east!
I hear you say, 'This journalist has lost his mind.'
Well, I should be excused. I have just seen a Michael Vaughan-inspired England crush World champions Australia by six wickets in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Australia looked listless for most of the match, but that takes away nothing from the all-round brilliance of Vaughan and his team.
Chasing Australia's modest total of 259 for 9 at Edgbaston, England achieved the target in 46.3 overs, scoring 262 for 4.
The victory is England's first over the Australians in 5-1/2 years and ended a 14-match losing streak in One-Day Internationals.
Vaughan led the way with a superb showing with bat and ball.
In a part-time role as off-spinner, he claimed the vital wickets of Australia's top-scorer Damien Martyn (65) and Darren Lehmann (38) and ran out in-form batsman Andrew Symonds before he could score to put the brakes on the Aussies. Then he hit a career-best 86 in ODIs to anchor England to victory.
He and opener Marcus Trescothick (81) put on 140 for the second wicket to dash whatever hopes the World champions may have entertained of reaching the final.
England will take on the winner of the Pakistan - West Indies second semi-final.
Australia innings
England came into the first semi-final as firm underdogs. Not only were they playing against the World champions, but were also up against a side that had defeated them 14 times in succession.
England's last win over Australia had come way back in January 1999. Since then the team has undergone a sea change and the result of the match depended on the combined talents of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison as much as it did on the Aussie batsmen.
England skipper Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to field first. A heavy cloud cover and freezing breeze blowing across the ground made it the logical decision. There was moisture in the air too for the bowlers to exploit.
Brett Lee came into the side for Shane Watson as the Aussies brought in firepower for all-round ability.
England went into the match with the same side that beat Sri Lanka over the weekend.
One leg bye off the first ball in the first over started off proceedings as Darren Gough shared the new ball with Steve Harmison.
But despite the movement available, Australia were going along at almost six runs an over by the end of the fifth over.
A change was needed. Vaughan could not afford to let Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden settle down. He obliged by introducing Flintoff into the attack. Gough's first three overs had cost 18 runs.
The move almost immediately paid dividends. Almost, because Marcus Trescothick failed to hold on to a fierce slash from Gilchrist, then on 18, at gully off the last ball of Flintoff's over. The ball seemed to reach him too quickly.
Eventually, Harmison got the much-awaited break-through. Hayden, who had looked the more settled of the two batsmen, was gone for 17 (21 balls). The ball pitched on the middle, moved just enough to get the edge and Trescothick gleefully held on to this one. (44 for 1)
Ponting was in next, but Gilchrist didn't give him company for too long. In the 14th over, Gough got the better of the Australian opener (37 off 50 balls) and Trescothick, somewhere between third and fourth slip, held on to his second catch of the match.
At the end of the 15th over, Australia had reached 76 for 2 and were looking good for plenty more.
Ponting was joined by Damien Martyn and the two set about setting up a platform for the batsmen to come. They didn't look in any particular trouble and runs came at a good rate. On a two-paced wicket like this it was vital that Australia had wickets in hand for the final few overs.
Then the England bowlers started to get their act together. The runs started to dry out and that almost always produces a reaction from the batsmen. In this case, Ponting (29 off 41 balls) came down the wicket and tried to loft Giles out of the ground, but he failed to get to the pitch of the ball and Gough, at long on, made no mistake. (114 for 3)
It was a dangerous time for the Aussies. The runs were not coming in and two relatively new batsmen, Darren Lehmann and Martyn, were at the wicket. Between the 21st over and 31st over, there were no boundaries.
But then Lehmann turned it on in a big way. He started with two consecutive boundaries in the 31st over and the next five overs saw the Aussies score at over eight an over.
From 130 in the 30th over to 172 in the 35th over, the Aussies were suddenly up and running.
But skipper Vaughan struck a big blow for England when he dismissed his Yorkshire team-mate, Lehmann. The left-hander missed the ball completely and was clean bowled after scoring 38 off 42 balls. (189 for 4)
The 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket had set the stage for big-hitter Andrew Symonds. As Symonds walked out, there was a huge roar from the Aussie supporters, his brilliant 71 against New Zealand still fresh in memory. But he is always the X factor; you never quite know how he will bat.
One run later, Symonds was run-out by Vaughan for naught. Harmison, the bowler, was in the midst of a huge leg-before appeal even as Symonds set off for a non-existent single. Vaughan swooped on the ball and rushed to the stumps to take the bails off.
At the end of the 40th over, Australia were 198 for 4.
The wicket, however, was starting to aid spin a bit and Vaughan decided to continue bowling. His move worked and he got the big wicket of Damien Martyn, who had scored 65 off 91 balls.
Martyn, having hit a four earlier in the over, tried to repeat the dose but hit it straight to Trescothick, who claimed his third catch of the match. (210-6)
Michael Clarke was the last remaining specialist batsman now and it was up to him to guide the tail. Vaughan bowled out his complete quota of overs for the first time since February 2003 against India in Mumbai.
Lee, Gillespie and Kasprowicz could all bat but Clarke needed to stay there. And he did that. He put on 39 for the seventh wicket with Lee (15) before Gough dismissed Lee and Gillespie, both clean bowled, off consecutive balls. (249 for 8)
Clarke was dismissed going for quick runs off the penultimate ball of the innings after scoring 42 off 34 balls, including five fours, and guiding Australia to a challenging total, given the conditions.
Australia finished on 259 for the loss of nine wickets. 61 runs came off the last ten overs and 41 off them came in the last five overs.
Gough failed to get a hat-trick and even though he claimed three wickets, he conceded 48 runs in his seven overs.
Harmison, who finished with figures of 10-0-53-1, certainly bowled a lot better than is figures read.
England have a chance but given the strength of the Aussie attack they will need their talisman Andrew Flintoff to shine once again.
England innings
England made a sedate start to their chase as Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie found their length quickly.
Solanki, in fact, was struggling but Trescothick got the hang of things with two boundaries, a cut and a wonderfully timed on-drive, off Gillespie as England reached 21 at the end of five overs.
Gillespie then struck, trapping Solanki leg before wicket for five off 18 balls (21 for 1)
Vaughan has not been in the best of form. In his last 11 innings he went past 50 just once. But England needed him to come good. Things were reasonably quiet until the ninth over of the innings, when Trescothick smashed Glenn McGrath out of the attack with boundaries off the second, third, fifth and sixth balls of the over. And just like that England had an RPO (runs per over) of 5.00.
That prompted Ponting to take McGrath out of the attack and replace him with Lee. Kasprowicz replaced Gillespie at the other end as Australia, for once, failed to get the early breakthrough.
But Lee couldn't stem the flow of runs either. After conceding four runs in his first over, he was taken to the cleaners by Vaughan and Trescothick. In his next two overs, the Aussie speedster conceded 26 runs, including 18 in one over.
Vaughan, in particular, was very severe. The England skipper had six fours at this stage and all had come off Lee, in the space of 13 balls.
Vaughan averages 63.30 against the Aussies in Test cricket against his career average of 42-odd. The confidence of having performed well against the 'old' enemy in Tests in Australia in 2002 did show.
By the end of the 15th over, England were 89 for the loss of Solanki's wicket. Australia, at the same stage, were 76 for 2. England's start had given them the advantage; now they needed to play sensible cricket.
Vaughan and Trescothick ensured nothing went wrong with their chase. The risks were cut out suddenly as both batsmen reached their respective fifties. They kept the RPO over five an over as Australia started to look desperate for a breakthrough.
At the 30-over mark, England were 154 for 1.
Ponting, meanwhile, introduced spin from both ends in the form of Lehmann and Symonds. It slowed down things a bit and it almost seemed as if Ponting was just waiting for something to happen. The Aussies, for once, looked flat.
And happen it did. Trescothick was bowled by an innocuous-looking delivery from Symonds after scoring 81 off 88 balls. (161 for 2)
The 140-run partnership between Trescothick and Vaughan put England on the path to victory. The question that remained to be answered was whether the other batsmen could finish what he had started.
Andrew Strauss came in and smashed three boundaries to reach 17 off 10 balls before drinks were called for one last time. Vaughan was still going strong on 67 as the match came into the final stretch.
England needed 76 off the last 90 balls to cap an incredible run that included 10 victories in their last 11 Tests over the past few months.
For statistic buffs: On 83, Vaughan reached his highest score in ODI cricket. He was dismissed soon after on 86, off 122 balls, including nine fours. The England skipper tried to hook a short-pitched ball from Lee but top-edged it to Hayden. (227 for 3)
The partnership was worth 66 runs from 67 balls and did more than enough to keep England in the driver's seat.
Flintoff's top-edged Brett Lee for a six over the wicket before being caught of the same bowler by Hayden for 16. (249 for 4)
Strauss, at the other end, played a blinder. His 50 came off just 39 balls, which included six cracking shots to the boundary. He completed the job and in the process solidified England's claim of being the second-best team in the world.
Collingwood, six not out, hit the winning runs and punched the air in triumph. Strauss was unbeaten on 52.
The Aussies will be disappointed for sure, but they will use the defeat to inspire them. When the teams next meet fireworks will fly for sure. But for now, England will savour the moment!
It is a pity that a full house didn't turn up to see England beat their traditional rivals. Edgbaston was only half full for a high quality match, one the Barmy Army would have relished.
