Aussies target England elimination

England Cricket / Editor / 05 April 2007 / Leave a Comment

Australia coach John Buchanan is keen to defeat England in Sunday's Super 8s clash as it will eliminate them from the World Cup.
The two sides meet in Antigua with the Aussies aiming to extend their unbeaten run in the World Cup to 26 games and strengthen their position at the top of the Super 8 table.

England realise a defeat could virtually end their bid to make the semi finals following Wednesday's two-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka and Buchanan is looking to play on their fears.

He said: "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 is also keen to gain revenge on England for their three successive defeats, including the two finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series. Victory for Australia will also see them jump above South Africa at the top of the ICC one-day rankings.

He added: "We're obviously trying to make amends for those defeats.
"It will be an exceptional contest, we'll know where we stand at the end of the game on Sunday."
Australia are the 1.28 favourites to win Sunday's match, with England available to back at 4.4.

Meanwhile, England are trading at 1.12 to be eliminated at the Super 8 stage, Michael Vaughan's side can be backed at 7 to be knocked out at the semi-final stage.