Despite England sitting in last place and with one win at the Cricket World Cup, Joe Root believes his side are “man for man” better than Australia.
The Aussies and England are set to collide on Saturday night (AEDT) in the World Cup, with the latter requiring a mathematical miracle to qualify for the semi finals.
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But a loss to Australia would officially seal England’s exit from the tournament in what would be a humiliating low for the defending champions.
Yet it hasn’t stopped Root from fanning the flames of the famous rivalry between the two enemies.
“This group of players has three opportunities to play at the level we expect of ourselves,” Root said.
“I fully believe we are more than capable of doing that on Saturday.
“Man for man, I’d have this team every day over the Australians.
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“We might not have played as well as we can do, but we know when we play our best stuff the best teams struggle to compete with us.
“We have to remember that and take that into the next couple of days, both in physical practice and mentally make sure we’re in that frame of mind to take on Australia.
“We’ve got to look at Saturday as our World Cup final.”
Aside from knocking England out of the World Cup, a win for Australia would consolidate their spot in third and also move four points clear of Pakistan and Afghanistan who are in fifth and sixth respectively.
However, Pat Cummins’ side will be without star duo Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh for the bumper clash against the Poms.
Marsh departed the team on Thursday to fly back to Australia for personal reasons, while Maxwell sustained a concussion after falling off the back of a golf cart.
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