Australia’s master plan to ensure they beat England in World Cup blockbuster

Two shock defeats and England are suddenly in a precarious position heading into their World Cup showdown with the Aussies who have targeted one man in particular to ensure they inflict more pain on the hosts.

Australia will target England anchor Joe Root with its fast bowlers instructed to attack the stumps in the barnstorming 5-1 start to the World Cup.

Root’s 424 runs ranks No.3 in the tournament and the elegant right-hander is easily England’s most prolific scorer after six games, ahead of captain Eoin Morgan (270).

But while the 5-1 Aussies are all but assured a semi-final berth, the blockbuster at Lord’s is suddenly critical for the old enemy after shock losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Australian fast bowling coach Adam Griffith said superstars Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were unlikely to be rested in the final three games, despite the luxury of sitting four points plus net run-rate clear in the top four.

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“We talked about bowling a little bit fuller (against Bangladesh), executing our slower balls into the wicket and our yorkers at the end,” Griffith said.

“We saw Stoin (Marcus Stoinis) and Starcy in particular execute pretty well at the back.

“Obviously Lord’s will create some new challenges (on) a fresh wicket.

“So we’ll have a look at the conditions and how we want to bowl, but when we’re at our best and we’re swinging the ball early … we can be a pretty good bowling unit too.”

Half of Starc’s ODI deliveries are pitched within 6m of the stumps, which is the highest percentage of all bowlers on record.

The recent downpours that have dampened the English summer have favoured pace bowlers with pre-tournament hype that spin would dominate drying up.

And targeting this man wil be central to their plans

Last week Australian sent net bowlers Pardeep Sahu (right-arm leg spin) and KK Jiyas (left-arm chinaman) home to India, although they could return to help batsmen prepare for the semi-finals.

“Everyone just expected teams to come in and bounce everyone and bowl short and try to blow everyone away and what we’ve actually the fuller length actually works a lot better,” Griffith said.

“It’s been harder to hit the ball down the ground and score straight. So what we’ve tried to do is adjust to that.

“I think it was a bit of a surprise that spin hasn’t been as effective as what we thought it would have been but I think maybe towards the back end, if it gets a bit drier and the weather starts to clear up a bit, then it might turn a bit more.”

Paceman bowling faster than 140km average 22.4 runs per wicket, compared to 37.3 runs for 120-132km, which favours Australia’s express pace.

Griffith said the Aussies extracted confidence from their warm-up victory against England n Southampton, although Morgan missed that match with a finger injury.

“Look (England) are pretty dynamic … (but) when we execute well and do what we do really well then hopefully that’s good enough against a team like that,” he said.

“And we’ll have a few things up our sleeves from watching them through the tournament but, again, we don’t want to make things too complicated. We still want to keep things simple and do what we do really, really well and we’ll back our guys in.”

Griffith praised Root’s ability to rotate the strike but said the key to a rare recent victory against England would be powerplay wickets.

England’s World Cup hopes will hang by a thread if they lose

BEATING ENGLAND IS IRRELEVANT

Dual World Cup winner Brad Hogg says victory against England is largely irrelevant, so long as Australia walks away from the World Cup blockbuster knowing how to defeat the tournament favourite in a knockout match.

Hogg was invited into the Australian dressing room after last week’s defeat to India and walked out of the changerooms certain this team could bury its recent misery with a sixth World Cup crown.

“I liked what I heard and I liked what I saw and that Australian team,” Hogg said.

“I’ve got to say, it has turned itself around over the last seven months.

“It’s one of those things where you were disappointed with them a year and a half ago but walking out of those changerooms that particular night I was proud as punch where they had taken cricket in a short space of time after a terrible period.

“I think the Australian public should be exceptionally proud of our boys with the way they conducted themselves both on and off the field and the way that they’re preparing.

“Full credit to Aaron Finch, David Warner has really stepped up and also Steve Smith. Just the way they were in the rooms was sensational, it was brilliant.

Hogg says he is impressed by what he is seeng in Warner and Smith

“It’s just your own experiences. I’ve been fortunate enough to be there and you do get in a bit of a bubble.

“But these guys were just so switched on and it was a different vibe from what I’ve ever felt before.

“I would not be surprised if they win this World Cup.”

Australia beat England in last month’s warm-up game and Hogg said so long as their World Cup game wasn’t a flogging the Aussies would stay on course for the cup.

“This is a game that you want Australia to win, yes you do, but at the end of the day it’s only a small battle in the big scheme of things of taking out the whole war.

“What it is is to stay in the contest and make sure whether you win or lose you’ve walked away from the game with more in your favour than what’s in the opposition.

“And that means that if you’ve lost, you’ve actually won in the fact that you know where you’re going to attack them next time, and you’re confident in the way you’re going to attack them next week.