The trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood starred in the first Test against India, who were dismissed for their lowest ever score – 36 – in the second innings in Adelaide.
Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood combined for 17 wickets in the day-night Test, with the latter finishing with 5-8 in the second innings.
Ahead of the second Test against India starting in Melbourne on Saturday, Langer said he was happy with his pacemen.
"I'm glad I've got them in my side and not in another side. Outstanding," he told a news conference.
"The other thing is they're all great mates so they love working together as a unit. Often you rate a bowling attack by who's just on the outer and you look at James Pattinson. He's a gun. He's an excellent Test cricketer.
"You've got someone like Michael Neser, we've got Sean Abbott here, we've got other young bowlers like Jhye Richardson coming back from injury.
"It's a fantastic attack, but guys know they've got to stay on their toes regardless of how talented and how well they prepare. In past Australian teams they had a Shane Warne to back up Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, very well-rounded attacks, and if you look at our attack at the moment it's incredibly well-rounded.
"We've got a fast left-armer, Mitchell Starc is bowling as fast as I've ever seen him at the moment. Pat Cummins is a superstar, Josh Hazlewood is like a Brownlow Medallist [awarded to the best and fairest player in the AFL]. I said when I got the job I just can't wait to have Josh Hazlewood in my team because he's so hard to get away and five-fors like the other day are due reward for him for all the work he does.
"It's a great bowling attack and I’m very, very happy it's in the Australian cricket team at the moment."
Led by Shubman Gill (91), Rishabh Pant (89 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (56), India incredibly passed their target of 328 late on day five on Tuesday.
It wrapped up a 2-1 series victory and ended Australia's stellar record at the Gabba, where they were unbeaten in their previous 31 Tests.
Pat Cummins (4-55) was the pick of Australia's bowlers, but India managed the third highest successful chase in their history and highest at the Gabba.
Rohit Sharma (7) fell early after edging Cummins behind, but Gill and Pujara blunted the Australia attack with a 114-run partnership.
Gill was the aggressor, while Pujara survived a tight lbw review off Nathan Lyon (2-85) when on just two.
Lyon had Gill caught by Steve Smith at first slip before Cummins removed Ajinkya Rahane following the captain's 22-ball 24.
The second new ball brought a much-needed breakthrough for Australia as Cummins finally got Pujara lbw, but Pant continued to impress.
As the dangerous Pant passed 50, Mayank Agarwal (9) survived following a review for a caught behind, but he scooped Cummins to Matthew Wade at short cover the following ball.
Washington Sundar (22 off 29) came and went, but Pant saw India to a remarkable win.
Pant times his run to perfection
His wicketkeeping often questioned, Pant produced the match-winning innings on the final day – and he timed it to perfection.
Just three overs were left when India wrapped up their victory, Pant perfectly choosing when to attack and keeping his composure as late wickets fell to lead India to a famous win.
Pujara highlights India bravery
Pujara's innings was just another example of India's fight throughout the series. The right-hander faced 211 balls in the second innings and he was hit repeatedly, including on the hand and in the head, but continued to battle on.
India were struck hard by injuries and saw Virat Kohli return home for the birth of his first child following the opening Test, which they lost after being dismissed for 36. Rahane stepped up in Melbourne and they managed to frustrate Australia in Sydney before a stunning victory in Brisbane.
Starc's struggles hurt Australia
Seemingly dealing with a hamstring injury on the final day, Mitchell Starc's struggles continued as he finished with figures of 0-75.
The left-arm paceman was particularly expensive and barely troubled India, who managed to contain him throughout the series. Starc finished with 11 wickets at 40.72 for the series, while the tourists also had answers to Lyon (nine wickets at 55.11).
India's bowlers flexed their muscles after Australia's top order struggled to limp to 133-6 at stumps on day three – a lead of just two runs on Monday.
Australia lost 28-4 in 27.1 overs following tea to be left reeling in Melbourne, where India head into the fourth day needing just four tail-end wickets to win the second Test and level the four-match series.
Joe Burns' woes continued atop the order as Australia's batting fragility was exposed – Matthew Wade (40) and Marnus Labuschagne (28) the pick of the batsmen on a forgettable day.
India returned to the middle 277-5 and leading by 82 runs after capitalising on Australia's poor fielding display on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane's memorable innings came to an end on 112 – run out by Tim Paine after Ravindra Jadeja chased a half-century.
Rahane's 112 is the second-highest score by an India captain against Australia at the MCG, after Sachin Tendulkar's 116 in 1999, per Opta. Meanwhile, it is the fifth-highest by any visiting skipper overall.
Jadeja brought up his fifty before he was dismissed by star Australia paceman Mitchell Starc (3-78) and the hosts quickly cleaned up India for 326 as Nathan Lyon (3-72) and Josh Hazlewood (1-47) sent Umesh Yadav (nine), Ravichandran Ashwin (14) and Jasprit Bumrah (0) packing.
India had eyed a lead beyond 200 but instead claimed a 131-run advantage after surrendering 32-5 in 93 deliveries as their tail failed to wag.
In response, Australia crumbled early, especially Burns (four) – who could have been run out twice and faced an lbw appeal before he was caught behind off Yadav (1-5) in the space of just 10 balls amid growing scrutiny.
Yadav limped off injured and just as Wade and Labuschagne navigated Australia through 14 overs and to 38, Ashwin (1-46) drew an edge from the latter, which brought Smith to the crease and the former skipper was bowled around his legs by Bumrah (1-34) for eight.
Wade dug deep in a 137-ball display but his dismissal by Jadeja (2-25) opened the floodgates as Australia went from 98-3 to 99-6 when Travis Head (17) and Paine (one) – controversially out on review – were sent pack to the pavilion.
Cameron Green (17 not out) and Pat Cummins (15 not out) thwarted India but the pair and Australia face an uphill battle entering the penultimate day.
Australia were all out for 469 in their first innings, Steve Smith following in the footsteps of first day centurion Travis Head to post 121, and then snapped up key wickets to establish a dominant position.
Each of their seam quartet struck as India lurched to 71 for four in the 19th over, before spinner Nathan Lyon joined the party and ended a battling fifth-wicket stand.
Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja doubled the score before the latter nicked Lyon to slip for 48. By stumps India were 318 behind on 151 for five, with plenty of work to do retain a realistic chance of succeeding New Zealand as red-ball world champions.
Australia arrived in the morning already boasting a healthy position on 327 for three. At that stage, they were surely hoping to clear 500, but India landed a few handy blows of their own as they took the last seven wickets for 108.
With 10 overs before lunch to work their magic, the Australian seamers made short work of the India openers. Captain Pat Cummins made the initial opening, thumping his opposite number Rohit Sharma halfway up the front pad with one that shaped in towards middle and off.
Scott Boland then joined the fray, seaming one in sharply and rearranging Shubman Gill’s stumps as he paid the price for a poorly judged leave. Boland filled his boots against England Down Under in 2021/22, taking a remarkable six for seven on debut at the MCG, and he made a compelling case for holding his spot at Edgbaston next week with 11 high-quality overs with the Dukes ball.
India survived a potential gut punch when star batter Virat Kohli came close to departing for a duck, withdrawing the bat only to see an inside edge spray off the toe and zip past his stumps, but their struggles continued after the break.
Cheteshwar Pujara belied his years of experience in English climes by aping Gill’s error, shaping to leave all-rounder Cameron Green and paying with the off stump.
Kohli’s exit left India in strife but he was at least guilty only of receiving a brutish delivery from Mitchell Starc.
The left-armer was expensive, shipping 52 from nine overs, but showed off his ability to deliver big moments when he got one to explode off a length at Kohli and rap the thumb of his bottom hand as it sprayed to slip.
India’s position left a lot to be desired but, with Australians sensing blood, Rahane’s perseverance and Jadeja’s counter-attacking nature served them well.
They put on 71 together, parted only when Lyon offered a change of pace. He forced Jadeja into an unusually defence stroke and clipped the outside edge to break the stand.
Smith had earlier brought up his 31st Test century, his seventh in England and his third at the Oval. Resuming on 95, he dispatched his first two balls of the morning from Mohammed Siraj to the boundary to reach three figures with minimal fuss.
India made regular inroads to keep the game moving forwards, Head departing for a classy 163 as Siraj got him brushing to the keeper with a bumper aimed at the ribs and Smith ending a five-and-a-half hour stay with an uncharacteristically loose prod that canoned into his stumps.
KKR had already dispatched of the Sunrisers with an eight-wicket victory in the first qualifier on Tuesday, and pulled off another superb performance to clinch the IPL for a third time.
Mitchell Starc stifled SRH from the start, taking Abhishek Sharma for two runs off five balls before Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught Travis Head for a duck.
In a stellar bowling display, Starc eventually finished with 2-14, while Andre Russell chipped in with a 3-19 late on.
The Sunrisers failed to gain any momentum on a low-scoring day, with Pat Cummins the top scorer with 24 off 19, as SRH finished with a measly 113 all out in the 19th over.
Despite Sunil Narine's early exit, SRH failed to give themselves any hope as Venkatesh Iyer came on to plunder 52 not out from 26 balls, including three boundaries, adding to Gurbaz's 39.
Shreyas Iyer then came on to help KKR over the line with six runs, seeing the win out for his team with 57 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: KKR bowlers come out on top
Russell has taken 18 wickets in the IPL this year, the most he has taken in any edition, going past 17 from 2022.
The Sunrisers registered the lowest-ever run total in an IPL final (batting first or second), beating the previous record of 125.
SRH lost 29 wickets during the powerplay overs in the IPL in 2024, the most by any team in this phase this season; it is also the second most wickets they have lost during the powerplay in a single IPL season (31 in 2013).
The fast bowler suffered a knock to his hand attempting to take a catch on day one, casting a shadow over an otherwise spectacular performance from the hosts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
With Cameron Green paying a fitting tribute to Shane Warne in the Boxing Day clash with a first five-wicket haul in Test cricket, South Africa were skittled for 189 in Victoria.
However, Starc was forced off during the final session and Lyon acknowledged they face a nervous wait to discover if he will be able to continue.
"[It is] not ideal, I don't think," he told cricket.com.au. "He's popped off for a scan now. Fingers crossed we can get the best possible result with his scan.
"I don't know what he's technically done, but it doesn't look the greatest. He went out the back and tried to bowl, but I think it [felt] a bit different.
"Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. All we can hope for is he gets the best possible result with the scan."
Starc has already suffered one hand injury this year, having sliced the top of his left index finger on his bowling shoe during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Australia have revealed their Test Player of the Year award will be renamed after Warne, who passed away suddenly in March aged 52.
In the Oman innings, Starc began to limp after bowling the first delivery of the 15th over, handing the ball over to Glenn Maxwell before making his way off the field.
Australia – who are looking to add the T20 crown to the 50-over World Cup they won in India last year – had been in a spot of bother early in their own innings, but Marcus Stoinis' unbeaten 67 helped them reach 164-5, which proved beyond Oman.
The victory takes Australia top of Group B after England's opener against Scotland was abandoned on Tuesday.
Australia face their old rivals in their second match of the tournament at the Kensington Oval on Saturday, and Marsh expects Starc to be fine for that contest.
"Starcy was just cramp so we didn't want to take a chance," Marsh said.
"When Starcy asks if he's okay to go off, you let him go off."
Reflecting on the victory – Australia's eighth in their last nine T20 World Cup matches – Marsh added: "It was a close game but it's good to get the win. It's not going to be the 200 types in this tournament.
"We are kind of going back to the old T20 style here in this tournament. We might get few wickets that are good for batting but that's the old T20, right?
"Things may look a little different on these sorts of wickets, but I think that's exciting. We go on to England now and hopefully that'll be a good game with a good crowd."
Despite Lucknow's loss, Pooran's aggressive innings stood out as he struck four sixes and two fours to provide a much-needed boost to his team's total. His performance, coming in at number six, helped Lucknow Super Giants post a competitive score of 161 for 7.
Kolkata Knight Riders' Mitchell Starc proved to be a significant obstacle for Lucknow, claiming three crucial wickets for 28 runs, including that of Pooran in the final over. Starc's exceptional bowling performance played a pivotal role in restricting Lucknow's run-scoring capabilities in the latter stages of the innings.
Starc got support from Sunil Narine, who failed with the bat, only making six, but bowled well, picking up 1-17 from his quota of overs. Andre Russell was expensive conceding 16 runs but also taking a wicket in the emphatic victory.
Lucknow's hopes were further dashed as Kolkata Knight Riders' Phil Salt dominated the chase with an unbeaten 89 off 47 balls, steering his team to victory with ease. Salt's aggressive batting display, combined with a composed innings of 38 not out from Shreyas Iyer, propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to their target with eight wickets in hand.
Cummins’ side are on a roll since losing against tournament hosts India and their opponents on Thursday, winning their remaining seven group-stage matches to storm into yet another semi-final.
South Africa might have prevailed in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia have significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.
Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.
The Australia captain said: “What helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before that have won one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments.
“You can draw on that in the middle of the contest. Obviously you start from scratch every time you play. They’re a team we’ve played quite a lot and know quite well.
“But this week it’s probably going to be quite different to say the South African series that we just played against them a couple of months ago.”
Australia memorably knocked out South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a tied match went the way of Steve Waugh’s side because they finished higher in the group stage on net run-rate.
The finale is one of the most replayed of all-time as Allan Donald was chaotically run out, despite South Africa still having two balls in which to get the solitary run they needed for victory.
Cummins said: “It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that replay heaps of times, you hear the stories.”
Australia have steadily grown in confidence in India, emboldened by Maxwell’s rescue act against Afghanistan as his 201 not out secured a dramatic win and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.
Marsh ensured a seventh straight victory with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into their Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.
Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a match from anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.”
India have beaten all comers on home soil over the past seven weeks, cheered on by passionate local support in every city they have visited.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the biggest cricket ground on the planet, will be teeming with blue shirts on Sunday and they will all be barracking for the same result.
When Pakistan played India at the same venue earlier in the competition, their team director Mickey Arthur pointed out that the lack of away fans meant “it didn’t seem like an ICC event, it seemed like a BCCI event” but Cummins insists Australia must not be daunted by the numbers game.
Instead, he wants them to savour the opportunity of ruining the partisan atmosphere.
“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” he said.
“Every part of a final, even in the lead-up, there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You’ve got to be up for it, you’ve got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine. You just want to finish the day with no regrets.
“We play over here in India a lot so the noise is not something new. I think on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before. Everyone deals with it slightly differently, you’ll see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over and other guys just staying in their own bubble, but it should be good.”
While India’s host status and irresistible run of results – 10 straight wins including a straightforward six-wicket success over Australia at the start of the group stage on October 8 – makes them favourites, their opponents boast the better pedigree.
Australia are five-time winners of the biggest prize in the one-day game, thrashing India by 134 runs when they met in the 2003 final in Johannesburg, and Cummins is one of several survivors from the triumphant 2015 team.
“We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups and that’s the opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, which is really exciting,” he said.
“To be captain would be an absolute privilege to lift the trophy with these great bunch of blokes. It’d be awesome and in terms of the pinnacle, I think it is right up there. It’s got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete and you only get a shot at it every four years.
“So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events – 2015 is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, that might pip it.”
Australia have no injury concerns in their 15-man squad and could go in unchanged following their tight semi-final win over South Africa. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis could come into consideration as an extra bowling option, with Marnus Labuschagne the only specialist batter looking over his shoulder.
Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel (NSP) on Tuesday confirmed the squad for three One-Day International and one T20 International in late March and early April.
All bar Starc were picked up last week in the IPL Auction with that competition due to start around a similar timeframe as the white-ball series. Warner, Cummins and Hazlewood were named in the previously announced Test squad for the series that begins in Rawalpindi on Friday next week.
Five other squad members have IPL deals; Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Marsh, Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Ellis.
NSP chair George Bailey explained that the omissions were due to a variety of factors to "juggle", including the need to manage multi-format players.
"We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle, including the tour structure of predominantly 50-over games, management of several multi-format players in the medium to long term; and our need to build experience and depth in preparation for two short form World Cups within the next 18 months," Bailey said.
"We're confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress towards those crucial tournaments."
Australia are also due to tour Sri Lanka in June for two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, while they will defend their crown on home soil at the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in October and November.
The tour marks Australia's first in Pakistan since 1998, with the white-ball players and staff to join the Test squad mid-tour.
Australia Test squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Player of the Match Starc claimed 48-5 from eight overs while the economical Hazlewood finished with 11-3 from six overs as the tourists responded after their 4-1 T20I series defeat.
Missing captain Aaron Finch, the Australians had managed 252-9 from 49 overs with the bat, led by stand-in skipper Alex Carey's 67 and Ashton Turner's 49 from 45 balls.
Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh continued his good form with the ball, taking 39-5 for his maiden ODI five-wicket haul.
Australia turned the game with the ball, with Starc dismissing opener Evin Lewis caught and bowled first ball, while Jason Mohammed (two), Darren Bravo (two) and Nicholas Pooran (duck) did not last long either.
Starc and Hazlewood took three wickets each as the West Indies slumped to 27-6 inside eight overs, before captain Kieron Pollard's lone rearguard.
Left-arm quick Starc had Pollard caught by Turner for 56 from 57 balls, effectively ending the resistance with Walsh last to fall to Adam Zampa with the West Indies 123 all out.
POSITIVE DAY FOR AUSSIE DEBUTANTS
Australia got the response they wanted after a disappointing T20I series, even with three ODI debutants in the side; Wes Agar, Josh Philippe and Ben McDermott.
The Aussies were also missing captain Finch, but first-time captain Carey showed his composure and quality with his steady knock after Australia had been in some trouble at 114-4 at the halfway mark.
Starc said about Carey: "He's pretty calm and collected today. He did fantastic with the bat.
"If he had any nerves, that probably helped him settle down. It's nice to get him a win in his first game as captain and three young fellas on debut."
Australia have long struggled in the shortest format but are much more adept in 50-over cricket as five-time World Cup winners.
POLLARD DEMANDS FOR 'FIGHT'
Australia's quicks dominated the early overs with the ball, decimating the West Indies' top order leaving captain Pollard scratching his head.
The West Indies' top five combined for a total of 15 runs, as Starc and Hazlewood bowled brilliantly, while normally reliable all-rounder Jason Holder also fell for a duck.
"The biggest thing is I want our guys to fight," Pollard said. "The ball was swinging but we can't just give it away. The most disappointing factor for me is we didn’t show that fight.
"We have to find a way to get through that first six to 10 overs when the ball is actually moving a lot and see where that takes us."
When asked about Starc and Hazlewood's spell, Carey simply said "wow". He added: "I probably haven’t seen a powerplay like that before."
Australia captain Cummins was force to sit out the match at Adelaide Oval after the paceman was deemed to be a close contact with a positive coronavirus case at a restaurant.
Fellow fast bowler Starc and spinner Lyon dined at the same establishment, but were considered to be casual contacts with the person who had the virus.
Starc took 4-37 and Lyon claimed 3-58 as England meekly collapsed from 150-2 to 236 on day three in reply to 473-9 declared. Australia then closed in complete command on 45-1 in their second innings - leading by 282 runs.
Left-arm quick Starc revealed it could have been a very different story if Cummins had replied to his text message.
He said: "It was just fortunate we were sitting outside. It was almost a bit of a p***-take because Pat didn't reply to my message so thought we'd sit away from him and sit outside so it's been a lucky one."
Starc says he did not lose any sleep fretting over whether dining out could have cost him another chance to exploit England's vulnerable batting line-up in a match Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of due to a side strain.
"Spinner [Lyon] didn't sleep. I slept quite fine, there wasn't much I could do about it after," he said.
It was revealed on Saturday that both sides will face stricter protocols for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Players can only follow Starc and Lyon's lead and dine outside, while they must also socially distance with members of the public.
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley told SEN radio: "We need to make sure there's social distancing, so we ask everyone to be respectful in the public.
"That's the real shame because what we have seen is players wanting to interact with fans. That's been a feature of the Big Bash. But we've now got very clear protocols.
"As it comes to those on the field of play we need to make sure that people are operating in a really biosecure way."
The Victoria quick was only drafted into the hosts' XI for the second Test in Adelaide following an injury to captain Pat Cummins sustained in their opening match.
Though only playing in his fourth red-ball match for his country, Boland repaid the faith with a terrific second innings performance, as the tourists were skittled for 77.
Both Michael Neser and Starc also produced three-wicket hauls, and it was the latter who got the plaudits for his turn with the ball at Adelaide Oval.
"It was the MCG all over again," he said, in reference to Boland's ruthless 6-7 against England in Melbourne last year. "The batters were giving him a hard time, as he did not get the wickets, but he was at his consistent best.
"Neser, Boland, Morris, [they] have all been brilliant and shown off the depth in our bowling. [It has been] great individual and team performances."
Smith, who returned to the captaincy he was previously banned from in Cummins' absence, was also full of praise for Boland.
"He is a second innings specialist," he added. "He was spectacular yesterday evening, and he bowled well in the first innings too.
"That's what you want, to keep challenging and get better. It gets exciting."
Australia will next kick off a three-Test series with South Africa at the Gabba on Saturday, before further games in Melbourne and Sydney.
They look likely to be without Josh Hazlewood however, in another blow to their bowling attack, after he picked up a strain.
Pat Cummins declared with the tourists 556-9 in Karachi on Monday, their third-highest total in Pakistan.
Starc took 3-29 and Mitchell Swepson claimed 2-32 as the hosts were skittled out for 148 in reply.
Captain Babar Azam top scored with 36 in a dismal effort from Pakistan with the bat and Australia were 81-1 at stumps, leading by a mammoth 489 runs and scenting a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after Cummins opted against enforcing the follow-on.
Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Starc with the second ball of the day, but Cummins and Swepson put on 51 in quick time for the last wicket.
Swepson ran Abdullah Shafique out to end an opening stand of 26 and Pakistan collapsed from 60-2, losing six wickets in the afternoon session.
Babar fell to Swepson when he gave the spinner the charge and could only pick out Usman Khawaja in the deep as Pakistan crumbled to 118-9.
Nauman Ali (20 not out) and Afridi (19) produced a final-wicket stand of 30 before Swepson removed the left-arm paceman.
Hasan Ali saw the back of David Warner for only seven after Cummins elected to bat again, but the in-form Khawaja (35no) and Marnus Labuschagne (37no) combined for an unbroken partnership of 61 to extend Australia's huge lead.
Starc swings Australia into complete control
With Pakistan weary after so long in the field, Starc conjured up some swing to strengthen Australia's grip on the match.
The left-arm paceman had Azhar Ali caught by Cameron Green at second slip for only 14 and followed that up by trapping Fawad Alam leg before from the next delivery.
Starc also removed Sajid Khan, caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey, as the tourists ripped through Pakistan.
Swepson makes his mark
Spinner Swepson had a long time to wait for his Test debut, having first been called up five years ago.
The tweaker made an unbeaten 15 in an unbroken final-wicket stand with Cummins of 51, before running Shafique out.
Swepson then made Babar his first Test scalp when the Pakistan captain was taken by Khawaja in the deep and finished the innings by snaring Afridi leg before wicket.
Left-arm paceman Starc is five victims away from becoming the sixth player to take 200 wickets for Australia in men's ODIs.
It might be asking too much of 32-year-old Starc to expect him to take all five on what will be, should he play, his 100th ODI appearance.
Indeed, team-mate Marnus Labuschagne has already voiced his view that spin could be the chief wicket-taking threat.
However, as long as Starc takes five at some point over his next four appearances, he will be the fastest player in the history of ODIs to reach 200, surpassing Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq, who got to the mark in 104 matches.
Australia and Zimbabwe will clash in three ODIs at the Riverway Stadium in Townsville, Queensland, over the coming days, with the venue staging its first such matches featuring ICC full-member nations.
These will be first ODI encounters between the teams since August 31, 2014, when Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets in Harare.
That result ended the hosts' 31-year wait for a second ODI victory in the rivalry between the teams, after Zimbabwe won at Trent Bridge in the 1983 World Cup but then lost their next 27 completed matches against Australia in the format.
Tasty appetiser for Black Caps series
Tussles with Zimbabwe on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday come ahead of Australia's three-game series against New Zealand in Cairns, which starts on September 6.
Australia have a 93 per cent win rate against Zimbabwe in men's ODIs, and only against Bangladesh (95 per cent) do they have a higher such success rate in the format (minimum 10 games).
Warner bids to go past Waugh, Raza sharp for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, coached by Dave Houghton and captained by Regis Chakabva, will be out to cause an upset and must aim to nullify David Warner's threat.
Warner has 18 ODI centuries in 133 matches, putting him one away from recording the outright second most tons for Australia in the short format. He is currently level with Mark Waugh, with Ricky Ponting's 29 hundreds leading the way.
It will be Warner's first ODI against Zimbabwe, and the visitors have their own batting threat in the shape of Sikandar Raza, who has hit three centuries in his past six innings in the 50-over international game, including a ton last time out against India.
Raza averages 62 with the bat since the beginning of 2022, the highest for any Zimbabwe batter in ODIs in a single calendar year (minimum 10 games).
With captains Pat Cummins and Jos Buttler both resting in Sydney, the hosts set England a target of 281 after Smith hit 94 from 114 deliveries.
Despite a strong effort in particular from James Vince and Sam Billings, England's reply petered out as Starc and Zampa claimed four wickets apiece.
After a steady start on a dry pitch, Australia lost both David Warner (16) and Travis Head (19) inside the first nine overs, before Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stepped in.
The duo put on a partnership of 101 before the latter fell to Adil Rashid (3-57) for 58, with Alex Carey out next ball as England looked to keep their opponents from accelerating away.
Smith and Mitchell Marsh (50) put on another 90 together before Smith was finally out hitting a deep shot straight to Phil Salt, while Marsh and Starc fell to David Willey in the penultimate over as Australia ended on 280-8.
Starc removed both Jason Roy and Dawid Malan in the first over of the chase before the tourists could get any runs on the board, and a brief flurry from Salt (23) came to an end when he stepped away for a big shot, only to see his stumps clattered by Josh Hazlewood.
Vince (60) and Billings (71) steadied the ship as they put on a partnership of 122 until Hazelwood trapped Vince lbw.
Moeen Ali came in and hit a four and six from his first three balls before Zampa bowled him with the fourth, and also removed danger man Billings and Sam Curran (0) in his next over to wrestle the momentum back for Australia.
England's inability to protect their stumps continued as Starc (4-47) bowled Chris Woakes, before Willey (6) dragged a delivery on just moments after nearly kicking his own stumps in a panic as the ball bounced over them.
Zampa (4-45) mopped things up when he trapped Liam Dawson lbw for 20 as Australia dismissed England for 208 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Starc contrast in bowling attacks
While England had their moments with the ball, especially when it was in Rashid's hands, the ruthlessness with which Starc dismissed batsmen almost made it look like a different pitch.
Zampa was equally impressive with his spin, taking key wickets in important moments, and was also the most economical of the Australian bowlers at just 4.57.
Roy fails again with the bat
Roy had been hoping to make a point after being overlooked for Alex Hales in England's successful T20 World Cup campaign, but after scoring just six in the first ODI, he was out for a second-ball duck here.
Having also lost the first game of the series by six wickets, this was England's first instance of back-to-back defeats in away ODIs since January 2017.
Meredith is one of three uncapped players in Australia's squad for three Twenty20s and three ODIs beginning next month.
The 24-year-old has taken 27 wickets at 23.03 in T20s, while his average in List A cricket is 36.80.
Starc praised Meredith and hopes the paceman can step up in four practice matches before the T20 opener against England on September 4.
"I've obviously seen him play some cricket and played the [Sheffield] Shield game against Tassie that he played in last year and he bowled really well, I think he got 'Smithy' [Steve Smith] out twice in that game so he's a huge talent," he said.
"There's been a bit of chat around him for a couple of domestic seasons now and I'm sure he's really excited, along with the other two newcomers to Australian cricket to get underway.
"He bowls fast. I think that's a great thing about him, he can just run in and express himself with the ball now and hopefully he can do so in these practice games and if he gets his chance in Australian colours I think he'll take it with both hands. So, a good chance for another one of the fast-bowling group to come and learn and express his skills on the world stage."
England are the top-ranked ODI team and won the Cricket World Cup on home soil last year.
Starc hopes Australia can deliver against England, who beat them in the semi-finals of the tournament.
"They're still the world champions so, look, they obviously had a game plan in place in the lead-up to the World Cup and they've carried on the way they play their cricket," he said.
"We played them three times during that period and we happened to beat them two out of three but we obviously saved our worst for last.
"It's now a chance for us to talk about the way we want to approach our cricket heading into the 2023 World Cup. We've got a squad of 21 and now we've got a chance to showcase that against the current world champions so hopefully we're in for an exciting series and hopefully one that we can come out on top of."
Langer this week accused sources who leaked stories to the media during his time in charge of the national team of being "cowards".
Speaking on the Back Chat podcast, the ex-Australia opening batter bemoaned a lack of honest feedback given by his players before he ended his reign in February.
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley responded by expressing his disappointment with Langer for "unfairly criticising" the players.
Speaking ahead of Australia's first Test against West Indies at Optus Stadium in Perth, which starts next Wednesday, paceman Starc revealed he has no problem with Langer.
"I have a pretty good relationship with Langer," he stated. "We exchanged text messages post the [T20] World Cup. I'm pretty comfortable with my relationship with JL.
"[It] was mentioned that there could be some noise around [this Test], obviously being in the west, [but] we're comfortable. [We] spend a lot of time together as a three-format group.
"It's all preparation for this Test match. Not too much is going to distract us. I'm sure we'll see [Langer] at the ground and throughout the summer."
Chasing 189-6, the West Indies needed 57 from 24 balls with five wickets left after Mitch Marsh took two wickets in an over, before fireworks from Fabian Allen (29 from 14) and Andre Russell (22* from 13) turned the game on its head in St Lucia.
The pair combined for four sixes from five balls in the penultimate over from Riley Meredith, needing 11 off the final over but Starc sent down five dot balls to Russell in the last to earn Australia a win which makes the series 3-1.
Australia captain Aaron Finch had won the toss and elected to bat, starting strongly with the skipper making 53 from 37 balls alongside Mitch, who top scored with 75 from 44 deliveries, in a 114-run stand.
The tourists stumbled in the middle order again, losing 40-5 with Hayden Walsh taking three wickets, before some late hitting from Dan Christian and Starc lifted them to a strong total.
The West Indies flew out of the blocks in their pursuit with Lendl Simmons posting 72 from 48 before the outstanding Marsh (24-3) dismissed him, along with Nicholas Pooran in quick succession.
All seemed lost for the hosts at 132-5 but Allen and Russell offered hope, before Starc's clutch final over.
