SHOW YOU’RE WORLD’S BEST
Botham says time is right for English to make history
SIR IAN BOTHAM last night backed England to beat Australia today then lift the World Cup.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in history, Beefy played in two World Cup finals in 1979 and 1992 but came unstuck against the brilliance of Sir Viv Richards and then the magic of Wasim Akram.
But he believes Eoin Morgan’s side are the best team at the finals and have the character to end 44 years of hurt and win the trophy for the first time.
Botham said: “They have done everything they can to get to this point and the carrot is there for a side who I believe is the best in the world in this format.
“They’ve got a great chance to be heroes, first against the Aussies and then hopefully in the final. I’d love to see them go one better than I did.
“I’m pleased with the way they picked themselves up and put some poor results behind them, that took some guts and all credit to them for that.
“It showed they are a team with character. They mean business and they are here to win it, which they have a great chance of doing.
“The history is there between England and Australia and we both love to beat each other more than anyone else.”
Meanwhile, Morgan insists Kevin Pietersen’s bid to wind him up will only serve to push him on today.
The former England star suggested the left-hander had backed away when facing pace ace Mitchell Starc’s first deliver during the group stage defeat.
But Morgan said: “When Kevin comes out with that it’s similar to comments I address from Geoffrey Boycott.
“They are not considered good for a team environment and don’t take the best interests of the team or the player at heart.
“Guys are trying their heart out to do well for their country, trying to learn, trying to get better. We have critics being critics. I don’t think we could be better prepared.”