Aussies can’t beat weather, aim to beat England

BIRMINGHAM: Australia remain confident of beating England in their make-or-break Champions Trophy clash at Edgbaston today, even if defeating the English weather has so far proved beyond them.

Steven Smith’s side endured the frustration of having Monday’s clash with Bangladesh abandoned due to rain, just days after their opening Group A fixture against New Zealand was also washed out.

On both occasions, it has been Australia who were batting in the early stages of their innings when bad weather ended play.

With two points from their two matches, Australia now have to beat England to be certain of a place in the semi-finals of a tournament featuring the world’s top eight one-day intentional teams.

“I think it makes the equation pretty simple for us,” said Smith, whose side suffered an Edgbaston defeat by England during the last Champions Trophy four years ago.

“We have to beat England and then I think we’re through. I haven’t really read into anything else that’s happened.”

Smith’s powerful top order have spent precious little time in the middle this tournament but the skipper said: “You know, most of the guys have been playing a lot of cricket, anyway, having been at the IPL (Indian Premier League) and things like that.

“I think once they get out in the middle, things will just click into place, and yeah, hopefully we can play well in Birmingham,” added Smith of a line-up where the bighitting Chris Lynn, fresh from his IPL exploits, could be recalled.

Australia’s pacemen, led by Mitchell Starc, have started to find their form and they would love nothing more than a go at the old enemy this weekend.

England, by contrast, have managed to dodge the bad weather sufficiently to beat both Bangladesh and New Zealand in convincing fashion to book their semi-final spot regardless of today’s outcome.

But captain Eoin Morgan wants no let-up against World Cup champions Australia. AFP