MORE than any other game in the ICC Champions Trophy, the semi-final at Edgbaston today will be contested in the mind. England must convince themselves that they really can end a run of 14 limited-overs defeats against Australia going back to January 1999. Australia have to crush renewed self-belief by England before their supremacy is threatened.
Michael Vaughan, the England captain, resembled an innocent child on Christmas Eve at his pre-match press conference, unable to conceal a wide-eyed smile as he proclaimed the contest a special event. But to Ricky Ponting, his opposite number, this is just another match: one more tournament, one more semifinal.
Australia arrived as strong favourites and nothing to happen so far has demanded reassessment. They have the best run-rate of the four teams still in the competition and will progress to the final on that basis if the next two days are washed out. According to Ponting, they have spent no more than 15 minutes studying footage of England.
His message is simple. It is up to England to worry about Australia, Andrew Flintoff or not. “We spent some time on him,” Ponting said. “But no more time than on anybody else. We have one or two things we might try against him. There is no magical plan for the game — just apply pressure for the whole of the 100 overs.”
Flintoff is unproven against Australia. He has yet to play in an Ashes Test and has featured in only two one-day internationals. His recent form has exhausted superlatives yet his ultimately brilliant hundred against Sri Lanka on Saturday flowered from murky roots. If he offers early chances again today, he will not be reprieved. Andrew Symonds is Australia’s batting version of Flintoff but, crucially, there is far less responsibility on the opposition player. Such is their depth that any honest comparison would find Australia superior with bat, ball and in the field.
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Australia will decide today whether to recall Brett Lee in place of Shane Watson. The pitch was a little damp yesterday and whoever wins the toss must balance early help for the seamers against the prospect of variable bounce later on. “There is certainly the temptation to play him,” Ponting said. “Four fast bowlers on that surface with a bit of assistance could be the way we go.” Vaughan described Australia’s bowling attack as “ the best in the world”, although it would be stronger still could Stephen Harmison switch allegiance. He is unrecognisable from the wayward bowler in Australia in 2002-03 and it will be interesting to see whether Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist try to undermine him by taking on the new ball.
That decision will be influenced by nothing more than conditions and the match situation. The Ashes series is too far away for Harmison’s confidence to be affected by what happens in ten overs today. Of more concern to Vaughan is Harmison’s emotional state after deciding not to tour Zimbabwe in the winter. “We will be putting his mind in shape to make sure he is all right,” Vaughan said. “One good performance now could see us to a final.”
It would be nice to think a capacity crowd would be there today to see them reach it. Support at Edgbaston for the match against Zimbabwe was pitiful, however, and about 5,000 tickets are still available. “I don’t think people realised we were going to get to the semi-final,” Vaughan said.
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