ENGLAND have lost their past 14 one-day clashes with Australia and there is no reason to believe they will arrest that rotten sequence when the teams meet in their Champions Trophy semi-final at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Supporters of England, who are a best-priced 2-1 with totesport, will point to their improved form in the past couple of years and the emergence of Andrew Flintoff as one of the best all-rounders in the world.
However, they still have their limitations on the one-day front - India and New Zealand beat them in mid-summer - and there is only so much that Flintoff can do.
Australia, 4-9 with Blue Square and evens to win the trophy outright, have three batsmen capable of being every bit as explosive as Flintoff in Hayden, Gilchrist and Ponting, but it is their awesome seam attack which makes them so irresistible.
The world champions are tempted to go in with a four-man pace attack featuring Brett Lee, their quickest bowler, in place of all-rounder Shane Watson. If Lee is included, he would take his place alongside Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz. That trio combined to kill off New Zealand in the space of 20 overs in the quarter-finals.