Australia captain Aaron Finch focuses on positives despite World Cup semi-final defeat

The defending champions were heavily beaten by hosts England at Edgbaston, but the opening batsman believes his side have come a long way despite the pain of a final-four exit

Australia captain Aaron Finch preferred to focus on the positives of his side's World Cup campaign despite his side's semi-final defeat to England at Edgbaston by eight wickets.

The defending champions were under pressure straight away after the captain himself was dismissed for a golden duck, and soon enough his side were 14 for three.

Australia never managed to wrestle back control despite a knock of 85 from Steve Smith, and while Finch admitted the defeat hurt, Finch maintained the progress his side have shown deserves praise despite the loss.

"There are a lot of positives to take out of the World Cup campaign,"  Finch said.

^{Finch departed for a golden duck}

"We've come a long way since the last time we were in England. You always want to win, you come thinking you can win, but there have been positives.

"In the last six months or so, there has been a lot of character shown, but it still hurts.

"We came here with a couple of injuries but that's not an excuse. We came here wanting to win but it wasn't to be."

Finch, whose side beat England at Lord's in the group stages, however was in no doubt that his side were likely to be second best after the first 10 overs and said they were punished for failing to execute their plans.

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"We were totally outplayed today. The way they set the tone with the ball and getting to 27 for 3 after ten overs was a huge part of the game.