England face a formidable task against hosts Australia in their World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today as they look to end a depressing run against the old enemy.
England, chasing a maiden World Cup title, head into the tournament with fresh painful memories of three losses to Australia, including a crushing 112-run defeat in last month’s tri-series final.
Eoin Morgan’s team have to turn around a wretched record of two wins from their past 15 ODI encounters in Australia in front of an expected 90,000 crowd at the MCG.
Photo: AFP
The last of England’s three losing World Cup finals was in Australia in 1992.
Adding to their problems is that in a tough Pool A they also face 1996 winners Sri Lanka and improving tournament cohosts New Zealand.
England are banking on home expectations getting the better of Australia as it proved when the World Cup was last held Down Under 23 years ago and the Aussies did not make the semi-finals.
“It’s important to focus on what we do best. I think a lot of times in the past we’ve strived for a formula that hasn’t been ours,” Morgan said. “I think if we can produce what I think is our best cricket on Saturday, we’ll be able to beat Australia.”
Morgan has issues of his own heading into cricket’s showpiece with three ducks in his past four outings restricting his meaningful batting practice.
“I’m not really that concerned. I’ve had a couple of low scores, but obviously I’m looking to cash in on Saturday [today] if I manage to get past 10 to 20 balls,” Morgan said. “Four or five games since I last scored a 100, so I don’t have to look that far back to actually reconnect with what works well for me.”
“I took a lot out of that 100 I scored in Sydney [last month], particularly as it was against Australia,” he said.
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