Eng's World Cup nerve faces Aus test
London: Are England just a bunch of "flat-track bullies."
That's the uncomfortable question facing Eoin Morgan's side as they look to get their World Cup campaign back on track against arch-rivals Australia. England opener Jason Roy has been ruled out for their highly anticipated clash. "I think to put one game on it, I don't think it's sensible," said Morgan at his pre-match press conference. "Let's just see how it goes." Roy tore his hamstring during England's win over West Indies and has since not featured in games against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Tuesday's match at Lord's was always going to be a showpiece occasion, but it has been given added spice by England's 20-run loss to Sri Lanka.
Faced with a relatively modest target of 233 on a tricky Headingley pitch, England slumped to 212 all out.
Despite their second defeat of the pool phase following an earlier loss to Pakistan, the tournament hosts remained in the top four and on course for a semi-final spot. But England, bidding to win the World Cup for the first time, cannot afford many more slip-ups in their remaining pool fixtures against fellow title contenders Australia, India and New Zealand — teams they have not defeated at a World Cup since 1992.
England's rise to the top of the ODI rankings since their woeful first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup has been based on aggressive batting. They have twice posted a world record score at this level in the intervening four years, including the current mark of 481-6 against Australia at Trent Bridge just over 12 months ago.
Doubts, however, persist about England's ability to bat in less than ideal conditions for shot-making. Their problems were summed up against Sri Lanka when Moeen Ali marked his 100th ODI by hitting a six, only to try to repeat the shot next ball and hole out to leave England 170-6. According to research by cricket statisticians CricViz, on the 11 toughest one-day pitches for batting England have played on since losing to Pakistan in the 2017 semi-finals of the Champions Trophy on a
slow Cardiff surface, they have lost five.
