LONDON, June 19: Hosts England cruised into the Champions Trophy final with a seven-wicket win on Wednesday after South Africa once again underlined their reputation as cricket’s undisputed ‘chokers’.

Alastair’s Cook men outplayed the Proteas after electing to bowl on an overcast day at The Oval where England had lost to the West Indies in the final of the same event in 2004.

South Africa were reduced to 80-8 by the 23rd over before a record ninth-wicket partnership of 95 between David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt gave the total some respectability.

But Jonathan Trott struck an unbeaten 82 and Joe Root contributed 48 during a 105-run partnership in 126 balls as England surpassed the modest target in the 38th over of a disappointing semi-final that had all the tension of a practice session.

In Sunday’s final at Edgbaston, which will be worth $2 million for the champions, England will meet the winners of Thursday’s all-Asian semi-final between India and Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

South Africa, the top-ranked Test team and a formidable opponent in world cricket, have struggled to get past the semi-final stage in major one-day tournaments since winning the inaugural version of the Champions Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998.

England lost openers Cook and Ian Bell cheaply to become 41-2, but South Africa-born Trott and Root flayed the attack on a good batting wicket to steer the hosts towards victory.

Root was bowled by J.P. Duminy for 48 when 30 more were needed in 18 overs, leaving Trott to bring up the emphatic win by driving Robin Peterson to the cover fence for his 11th boundary in an 84-ball knock.

Miller hit an unbeaten 56 and Kleinveldt chipped in with a career-best 43 in South Africa’s best ODI partnership for the ninth wicket, surpassing the 65 by Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn against India in Jaipur in 2010.

Miller, who rose to fame with a 38-ball century in the Indian Premier League Twenyt20 tournament this year, smashed five boundaries and two sixes.

Kleinveldt, replacing the unfit Steyn, hit a six and four fours against an impressive England team for whom wicket-keeper Jos Buttler picked up six catches.

Off spinner James Tredwell, who was named Man-of-the-Match, and seamer Stuart Broad claimed three wickets each, but it was pace spearhead James Anderson who did the early damage with two quick wickets.

South Africa lost both openers, Colin Ingram and Hashim Amla, off the first 10 deliveries of the match to make it 4-2.

Star batsman Amla, who hit a Test triple-century at the same venue last year, was caught behind off Steven Finn for one. Ingram was leg-before to Anderson.

Pinch-hitter Peterson smashed 30 in a third-wicket stand of 41 with Faf du Plessis before becoming Anderson’s second leg-before victim in the 11th over.

Two overs later, the Proteas suffered a major blow when skipper A.B. de Villiers gifted his wicket with a wild drive off Broad that was edged to the wicket-keeper.

Tredwell made up for the absence of the injured Graeme Swann as he had Duminy leg-before in his second over and got du Plessis caught behind in his third.

South Africa slumped to 70-6 in the 19th over and it soon became 76-7 when Ryan McLaren was run out by an alert Trott in the slips as the batsman stepped out to drive Tredwell.

In South Africa’s post-apartheid history of major events, it was another scar to add to chokes in the World Cup semi-finals in 1999 and 2007, the quarter-final in 2011, and the Champions Trophy semi-finals in 2000 and 2002.

This was South Africa’s and England’s first major semi-final since the 1992 World Cup, the infamous, rain-affected match in which the Proteas needed 21 off the last ball.

“I was crying that night,” de Villiers said this week. He wouldn’t have cried on Wednesday as he had longer to digest the inevitable result at The Oval.—Agencies

ScoreboardSOUTH AFRICA:C.A. Ingram lbw b Anderson 0H.M. Amla c Buttler b Finn 1R.J. Peterson lbw b Anderson 30F. du Plessis c Buttler b Tredwell 26A.B. de Villiers c Buttler b Broad 0J.P. Duminy b Tredwell 3D.A. Miller not out 56R. McLaren run out 1C.H. Morris c Buttler b Tredwell 3R.K. Kleinveldt c Buttler b Broad 43L.L. Tsotsobe c Buttler b Broad 0

EXTRAS (LB-6, W-6) 12TOTAL (all out, 38.4 overs) 175FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-4, 3-45, 4-50, 5-63, 6-70, 7-76, 8-80, 9-175.BOWLING: Anderson 8-1-14-2 (3w); Finn 8-1-45-1 (1w); Broad 8.4-0-50-3 (2w); Tredwell 7-1-19-3; Root 3-0-22-0; Bopara 4-0-19-0.

ENGLAND:A.N. Cook c de Villiers b Morris 6I.R. Bell c de Villiers b Kleinveldt 20I.J.L. Trott not out 82J. Root b Duminy 48E.J.G. Morgan not out 15

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-4) 8TOTAL (for three wkts, 37.3 overs) 179FALL OF WKTS: 1-22, 2-41, 3-146.DID NOT BAT: R.S. Bopara, J.C. Buttler, S.C.J. Broad, J.C. Tredwell, S.T. Finn, J.M. Anderson.BOWLING: Morris 8-1-38-1 (3w); Peterson 9.3-1-49-0; Duminy 5-0-27-1; Tsotsobe 5-0-26-0; Kleinveldt 4-0-10-1; McLaren 6-0-25-0 (1w).RESULT: England won by seven wickets.UMPIRES: H.D.P.K. Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and R.J. Tucker (Australia).TV UMPIRE: B.N.J. Oxenford (Australia).MATCH REFEREE: J. Srinath (India).MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: James Tredwell.