Australia keen to end England's World Cup hope

Australia coach John Buchanan said his side will be keen to eliminate England from the World Cup when they meet in Antigua in a Super Eight match here Sunday.

Defeat for England would all but end its semi-final hopes following Wednesday's loss to Sri Lanka.

"It's a very important game for us. Winning will enable us to knock another team out of the event. For England, every outing is a knockout game now and that places them on razor's edge," Buchanan was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Australia lost three times in a row to England earlier this year, including the two finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series.

Buchanan admitted that revenge was on Australia's mind as the team was looking ahead to continue its unbeaten run in World Cups to 26 matches.

"We're obviously trying to make amends for those defeats," said Buchanan.

"It will be an exceptional contest. We'll know where we stand at the end of the game on Sunday," said Buchanan, whose team is out to complete a hat trick of World Cup titles after the triumphs in 1999 and 2003.

Australia is at the top of the Super Eight standings with six points, equal with New Zealand and Sri Lanka but ahead on run rate.

Australia is considering its options after all-rounder Shane Watson was ruled out of action for a couple of weeks with a calf strain.

Brad Hodge is the likely replacement, while Queensland all-rounder James Hopes has been put on stand-by in case Watson does not recover in time for the semi-finals.

(IANS)

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